Editing Atlantic Coast Conference (section)

==Basketball==
{{main|Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball}}

===History===
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2017}}

The early roots of ACC basketball began primarily thanks to two men: [[Everett Case]] and [[Frank McGuire]].
Case accepted the head coaching job at North Carolina State. Case's North Carolina State teams dominated the early years of the ACC with a modern, fast-paced style of play. He became the fastest college basketball coach to reach many "games won" milestones.
Case became known as ''The Father of ACC Basketball.'' Despite his success on the court, he may have been even a better promoter off-the-court. Case realized the need to sell his program and university. State started construction on [[Reynolds Coliseum]] in 1941. Case persuaded school officials to expand the arena to 12,400 people. It opened as the new home court for his team in 1949; at the time, it was the largest on-campus arena in the South. As such, it was used as the host site for many Southern Conference tournaments, ACC tournaments, and the ''[[Dixie Classic (basketball tournament)|Dixie Classic]]''. The Dixie Classic brought in large revenues for all schools involved and soon became one of the premier sporting events in the [[Southern United States|South]].

Partly to counter Case's success, North Carolina convinced Frank McGuire to come to Chapel Hill in 1952. McGuire knew that, largely due to Case's influence, basketball was now the major high school athletic event of the region. He not only tapped the growing market of high school talent in North Carolina, but also brought several recruits from his home territory in New York City as well. Case and McGuire literally ''invented'' a rivalry. Both men realized the benefits created through a rivalry between them. It brought more national attention to both of their programs and increased fan support on both sides.

After State was slapped with crippling NCAA sanctions before the 1956–57 season, McGuire's North Carolina team delivered the ACC its first national championship. During the Tar Heels' championship run, Greensboro entrepreneur Castleman D. Chesley noticed the popularity that it generated. He cobbled together a five-station television network to broadcast the Final Four. That network began broadcasting regular season ACC games the following season—the ancestor of the television package from [[Raycom Sports]]. From that point on, ACC basketball gained large popularity.

The ACC has been the home of many prominent basketball coaches besides Case and McGuire, including [[Terry Holland]] and [[Tony Bennett (basketball)|Tony Bennett]] of Virginia; [[Vic Bubas]] and [[Mike Krzyzewski]] of Duke; [[Press Maravich]], [[Norm Sloan]] and [[Jim Valvano]] of North Carolina State; [[Dean Smith]] and [[Roy Williams (coach)|Roy Williams]] of North Carolina; [[Bones McKinney]] and [[Dave Odom]] of Wake Forest; [[Lefty Driesell]] and [[Gary Williams]] of Maryland; [[Bobby Cremins]] of Georgia Tech; [[Jim Boeheim]] of Syracuse; [[Jim Larrañaga]] of Miami; and [[Rick Pitino]] of Louisville.

===Tournament as championship===
{{main|ACC men's basketball tournament|ACC women's basketball tournament|List of Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball regular season champions}}

Possibly Case's most lasting contribution is the [[ACC men's basketball tournament|ACC tournament]], which was first played in 1954 and decides the winner of the ACC title. The ACC is unique in that it is the only Division I college basketball conference that does not recognize a regular season champion. This started when only one school per conference made the NCAA tournament. The ACC representative was determined by conference tournament rather than the regular season result. Therefore, the league eliminated the regular season title in 1961, choosing to recognize only the winner of the ACC tournament as conference champion. Fans and media do claim a regular-season title for the team that finishes first, and the NCAA recognizes a regular-season title winner in order to maintain its system of choosing [[National Invitation Tournament|NIT]] and NCAA tournament berths based on regular season placement.<ref>{{cite web|title=March Madness Swells as NCAA Pumps Up NIT Tournament|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aMw7OarRcGLI|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=March 21, 2013|date=March 14, 2006}}</ref> For the ACC, recognition of a regular season champion is insignificant as a 1975 NCAA rule change allowed more than one team per conference to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. As a result, the team finishing atop the ACC regular-season standings has invariably been invited to the NCAA tournament even if it did not win the ACC Tournament. Even so, any claim to a regular season "title" remains unofficial and carries no reward other than top seed in the ACC tournament.

Historically, the ACC Tournament has been played in North Carolina and dominated by the four teams from [[Tobacco Road (rivalry)|Tobacco Road]] in North Carolina—North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina State and Wake Forest. Between them, they have won 50 tournament titles. The [[Virginia Cavaliers]], however, have historically dominated the ACC regular season standings along with North Carolina and Duke. Between just these three programs they have 65 regular season titles. Since 2007, these three teams have finished first or tied for first 19 times in 18 years, with by far the most first-place finishes by North Carolina (9) and Virginia (7).

===Present-day schedule===
{{See also|ACC–Big Ten Challenge|ACC–SEC Challenge}}
For 53 years, the ACC employed a double round-robin schedule in the regular season, in which each team played the others twice a season. With the expansion to 12 members by the 2005–2006 season, the ACC schedule could no longer accommodate this format. In the new scheduling format that was agreed to, each team was assigned two permanent partners and nine rotating partners over a three-year period.<ref>The Triangle teams' original partners, which have since been varied (for example, Duke's original partners were North Carolina and Maryland and, as reflected in the table in the body of the article, are now North Carolina and Wake Forest) can be found here: {{cite web|title=USATODAY.com – ACC releases 12-team basketball schedule|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/acc/2005-02-25-12-team-schedule_x.htm|access-date=January 25, 2022|website=usatoday30.usatoday.com |date=April 2, 2015}}</ref> Teams played their permanent partners in a home-and-away series each year. The rotating partners were split into three groups: three teams played in a home-and-away series, three teams played at home, and three teams played on the road. The rotating partner groups were rotated so that a team would play each permanent partner six times, and each rotating partner four times, over a three-year period.

For the 2012–13 season, the 12-team in-conference schedule expanded to 18. Originally for the 2013–14 season, the expanded 14-team, 18-game schedule was to consist of a home and away game with a "primary partner" while the remaining conference opponents would have rotated in groups of three: one year both home and away, one year at home only, and one year away only.<ref>{{cite web|title=ACC Announces Future Regular-Season Scheduling Formats|url=http://www.theacc.com/genrel/020312aaa.html|publisher=Atlantic Coast Conference|access-date=February 7, 2012|date=February 3, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519084816/http://www.theacc.com/genrel/020312aaa.html|archive-date=May 19, 2012}}</ref> However, when Notre Dame was also added for the 2013–14 season, the now 15-team, 18-game schedule was modified so each school played two "Partners" home and away annually, two home and away, five home, and the other five away.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/8460836/acc-gets-right-new-scheduling-format-men-college-basketball |title=Expanding ACC sets primary partners |first=Andy |last=Katz |author-link=Andy Katz |work=ESPN.com |date=October 4, 2012 |access-date=September 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921062238/http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/8460836/acc-gets-right-new-scheduling-format-men-college-basketball |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2013–14, after 1 year at 18 games, women's basketball went back to a 16-game schedule where each team only plays 2 teams twice, rotating opponents each year over seven years and has no permanent partners. In 2019–2020, with the launch of the ACC Network, the men's schedule expanded to 20 games and the women's schedule expanded to 18 games.

The ACC and the [[Big Ten Conference]] held the [[ACC–Big Ten Challenge]] each season from 1999 to 2022. The competition was a series of regular-season games pitting ACC and Big Ten teams against each other. Each team typically plays one Challenge game each season, except for a few teams from the larger conference that are left out due to unequal conference sizes. The first [[ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge]] was played in 2007, and had the same format as the men's Challenge. The series has since been replaced by the [[ACC–SEC Challenge]].

===National championships and Final Fours===
Over the course of its existence, ACC schools have captured 15 NCAA men's basketball championships while members of the conference. [[North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball|North Carolina]] has won six, [[Duke Blue Devils men's basketball|Duke]] has won five, [[NC State Wolfpack men's basketball|NC State]] has won two, and [[Maryland Terrapins men's basketball|Maryland]] and [[Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball|Virginia]] have each won one. Four more national titles were won by current ACC members while in other conferences—three by 2014 arrival [[Louisville Cardinals men's basketball|Louisville]] and one by 2013 arrival [[Syracuse Orange men's basketball|Syracuse]]; Louisville was forced to vacate the third national title due to [[2015 University of Louisville basketball sex scandal|NCAA sanctions]]. Seven of the 12 pre-2013 members have advanced to the [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship#Final Four|Final Four]] at least once while members of the ACC. Another pre-2013 member, [[Florida State Seminoles men's basketball|Florida State]], made the Final Four once before joining the ACC. All three schools that entered the ACC in 2013, as well as Louisville, advanced to the Final Four at least once before joining the conference. Two of the three schools that joined in 2024, [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]] rivals [[California Golden Bears men's basketball|California]] and [[Stanford Cardinal men's basketball|Stanford]], have each won one NCAA title.

Also notable are earlier national championships from historical eras prior to the dominance of the NCAA-administered championship. The ACC is often credited with forcing the NCAA tournament to expand to allow more than one team per conference, creating the at-large NCAA field common today.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.baltimoresun.com/1999/02/09/this-overtime-lasts-25-years-nc-state-terps-the-1974-acc-tourney-final-remains-a-fresh-memory-for-players-of-both-teams-after-all-the-classic-decided-a-national-title/|title = This overtime lasts 25 years; N.C. State-Terps: The 1974 ACC tourney final remains a fresh memory for players of both teams. After all, the classic decided a national title|work = The Baltimore Sun|first = Bill|last = Free|date = February 9, 1999|access-date = March 31, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170912234511/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-02-09/sports/9902090157_1_nba-draft-picks-david-thompson-burleson|archive-date = September 12, 2017|url-status = live}}</ref> The [[Helms Athletic Foundation]] selected national champions for seasons predating the beginning of the NCAA tournament (1939), including North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pitt, Stanford, and Syracuse. Prior to the at-large era (1975), the [[National Invitation Tournament]] championship had prestige comparable to the NCAA championship, and Louisville, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia Tech won titles during this period (later NIT titles are not considered consensus national championships).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nabc.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031103aaa.html|title=MARCH MADNESS: Growth of NCAA Tournament|date=March 11, 2003|access-date=March 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320004831/http://www.nabc.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031103aaa.html|archive-date=March 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In women's basketball, ACC members have won three national championships while in the conference, [[North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball|North Carolina]] in 1994, [[Maryland Terrapins women's basketball|Maryland]] in 2006, and [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball|Notre Dame]] in 2018. Notre Dame, which joined in 2013, also previously won the national title in 2001. In 2006, Duke, Maryland, and North Carolina all advanced to the [[NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship|Final Four]], the first time a conference placed three teams in the women's Final Four. Both finalists were from the ACC, with Maryland defeating Duke for the title. One of the newest members, [[Stanford Cardinal women's basketball|Stanford]], won three national titles before joining the ACC (1990, 1992, 2021).

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! style="width:125px;"| School
! style="width:125px;"| <span style="font-size:90%">Pre-NCAA Helms Champ{{shy}}ionships</span>
! style="width:125px;"| NCAA Men's Champ{{shy}}ionships
! style="width:125px;"| <span style="font-size:85%">Men's NCAA<br/>Runner-Up</span>
! style="width:125px;"| <span style="font-size:85%">Men's NCAA Final Fours</span>
! style="width:125px;"| NCAA Women's Champ{{shy}}ionships
! style="width:125px;"| <span style="font-size:85%">Women's NCAA<br/>Runner-Up</span>
! style="width:125px;"| <span style="font-size:85%">Women's NCAA Final Fours</span>
|-
| California
| 
| 1<br/>''(1959)''
| 1<br/>''(1960)''
| 3<br/>''(1946, 1959, 1960)''
|
|
| 1<br/>''(2013)''
|-
| Duke
|
| 5<br/>(1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015)
| 6<br/>{{refn|group=o|Duke has been the men's NCAA runner-up 6 times (1964, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1999)}}
| 18<br/>{{refn|group=o|Duke has reached the men's Final Four 18 times (1963, 1964, 1966, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2022, 2025)}}
|
| 2<br/>(1999, 2006)
| 4<br/>(1999, 2002, 2003, 2006)
|-
| Florida State
|
| 
| 1<br/>''(1972)''
| 1<br/>''(1972)''
| 
|
|
|-
| Georgia Tech
|
| 
| 1<br/>(2004)
| 2<br/>(1990, 2004)
| 
|
|
|-
| Louisville
|
| 2<br/>''(1980, 1986)''{{refn|group=o|Louisville's third national title, in ''2013'', was vacated due to NCAA sanctions.}}
| 
| 8<br/>{{refn|group=o|Louisville has reached the men's Final Four 8 times ''(1959, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 2005)''. Two Final Four appearances (''2012, 2013'') were vacated due to NCAA sanctions.}}
| 
| 2<br/>''(2009, 2013)''
| 4<br/>(''2009, 2013'', 2018, 2022)
|-
| North Carolina
| 1<br/>''(1924)''
| 6<br/>{{refn|group=o|North Carolina has won the NCAA men's championship six times (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017)}}
| 6<br/>(''1946'', 1968, 1977, 1981, 2016, 2022)
| 21<br/>{{refn|group=o|North Carolina has reached the men's Final Four 21 times (''1946'', 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, 2022)}}
| 1<br/>(1994)
|
| 3<br/>(1994, 2006, 2007)
|-
| NC State
|
| 2<br/>(1974, 1983)
|
| 4<br/>(''1950'', 1974, 1983, 2024)
|
|
| 2<br/>(1998, 2024)
|-
| Notre Dame
| 2<br/>''(1927, 1936)''
| 
|
| 1<br/>''(1978)''
| 2<br/>(''2001'', 2018)
| 5<br/>(''2011, 2012'', 2014, 2015, 2019)
| 7<br/>{{refn|group=o|Notre Dame has reached the women's Final Four 7 times (''1997, 2001, 2011, 2012, 2013'', 2014, 2015, 2018)}}
|-
| Pittsburgh
| 2<br/>''(1928, 1930)''
|
|
| 1<br/>''(1941)''
|
|
|
|-
| SMU
| 
| 
| 
| 1<br/>''(1956)''
|
|
|
|-
| Stanford
| 1<br/>''(1939)''
| 1<br/>''(1942)''
| 
| 2<br/>''(1942, 1998)''
| 3<br/>''(1990, 1992, 2021)''
| 2<br/>''(2008, 2010)''
| 15<br/>{{refn|group=o|Stanford has reached the women's Final Four 15 times ''(1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2022)''}}
|-
| Syracuse
| 2<br/>''(1918, 1926)''
| 1<br/>''(2003)''
| 2<br/>''(1987, 1996)''
| 6<br/>{{refn|group=o|Syracuse has reached the men's Final Four six times ''(1975, 1987, 1996, 2003, 2013'', 2016)}}
|
| 1<br/>(2016) 
| 1<br/>(2016)
|-
| Virginia
|
| 1<br/>(2019)
| 
| 3<br/>(1981, 1984, 2019)
| 
| 1<br/>(1991)
| 3<br/>(1990, 1991, 1992)
|-
| Wake Forest
| 
|
|
| 1<br/>(1962)
|
|
|
|}
''Italics denotes honors earned before the school joined the ACC.'' Women's national championship tournaments prior to 1982 were run by the [[AIAW women's basketball tournament|AIAW]].

{{reflist|group=o}}