Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament explained

Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament
Optional Subheader:Conference baseball championship
Sport:Baseball
Conference:Atlantic Coast Conference
Number Of Teams:12
Format:4 group, 3 team round-robin tournament and
championship game
Current Location:Charlotte, NC
Years:1973–1978, 1980–present
Most Recent:2024
Current Champion:Duke (2nd)
Most Championships:Clemson (11)
Television:FS South, Sun Sports, CSN Mid-Atlantic, NESN, SportSouth, ACCN
Website:TheACC.com Baseball
All Stadiums:Louisville Slugger Field (2017)
Durham Bulls Athletic Park (1996, 1998–99, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015–16, 2018-2019, 2023)
Truist Field (2021–2022, 2024)
First National Bank Field (2010, 2012, 2014)
Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (2005–08)
Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium (2003–04)
Florida Power Park (1997, 2002)
Knights Stadium (2000–2001)
Greenville Municipal Stadium (1987–95)
Durham Athletic Park (1984, 1986)
Russ Chandler Stadium (1985)
Boshamer Stadium (1973, 1975, 1981–83)
Doak Field (1974, 1980)
Beautiful Tiger Field (1976–78)
All Locations:Louisville, KY (2017)
Charlotte, NC (2021–2022, 2024)
Durham, NC (1984, 1986, 1996, 1998, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015–16, 2018-2019, 2023)
Greensboro, NC (2010, 2012, 2014)
Jacksonville, FL (2005–08)
Salem, VA (2003–04)
St. Petersburg, FL (1997, 2002)
Fort Mill, SC (2000–2001)
Greenville, SC (1987–95)
Atlanta, GA (1985)
Chapel Hill, NC (1973, 1975, 1981–83)
Raleigh, NC (1974, 1980)
Clemson, SC (1976–78)

The Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament, sometimes referred to simply as the ACC tournament, is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In 2017, the event adopted a modified twelve-team pool play format. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

History

The ACC has a history of odd formats for its baseball championship. Since 1973, the first year of the tournament, the format has changed six times. The current format is a four-group, three-team round robin tournament with the winner of each grouping playing in a single-elimination tournament for the semifinals and final.

1973–78

See Example: 1976 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament

For the first six seasons of the tournament, the ACC had seven members, resulting in a format where the #1 seed received a bye to play the winner of the #4 v #5 match-up. The first round of the tournament was single-elimination with the losers going home. After the first round, the remaining 4 teams played a traditional double-elimination-style tournament.

1979

Due to conflicts with exams, the ACC opted to not hold a tournament. Instead, the regular season winner Clemson was given the conference's automatic bid to the 1979 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

1980–2003

Example: 1981 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament

Beginning with the addition of Georgia Tech to the conference in 1980, the ACC began using a format closer to that of a true double-elimination tournament with a few exceptions.

From TheACC.com :

1991–2003

With the introduction of Florida State into the ACC to bring the total teams to nine, the baseball tournament added a Play-In game where the bottom two teams in the conference regular season standings played in a winner-takes-all game for the 8th spot in the regular tournament.

2004

See main article: 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament.

In 2004, the ACC began using a true eight-team double-elimination tournament with the bottom two teams in regular season conference play facing each other in a single-elimination game where the winner got the #8 spot in the regular tournament.

2005

See main article: 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament.

In 2004, the conference expanded to 11 teams with the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech. Beginning with the 2005 Baseball Tournament, the tournament switched from a true eight-team double-elimination to two four-team double-elimination brackets with winner of each side playing in a winner-take-all championship game. The bottom four teams in conference play faced off in a single-elimination bracket, with the winner earning the #8 spot in the tournament.

2006

See main article: 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament.

In 2005, Boston College joined the conference, bringing the total number of members to 12. Instead of adjusting the tournament yet again, the tournament would remain the same format as was developed in 2005, but the ACC eliminated the play-in round.

2007–2013

See Example: 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament

Beginning in 2007, the ACC developed a new tournament format that eliminated the brackets altogether. This new format was a two-group, four-team round robin tournament with the winner of each grouping playing in a winner-take-all championship game. Only the top eight teams in the regular season conference standings were invited to play in the tournament.On July 6, 2009, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced a decision to move three future baseball tournaments out of Myrtle Beach, citing miscommunications with the NAACP concerning the display of the Confederate flag in South Carolina. (Charlotte was included in the NAACP Boycott because Knights Stadium was in York County, South Carolina, less than five kilometers from the state line.) The 2010 ACC tournament was initially scheduled to take place at Fenway Park, but cost-containment for schools (most of whom would have to fly to Boston) was cited for moving the tournament to Greensboro.[1] [2]

2014–2016

Beginning in 2014, with the expansion of the conference, the tournament expanded to ten teams. The four lower seeds (7 vs 10 and 8 vs 9) played a one-game play-in game to participate in pool play with the 6 higher seeds.[3]

2017

On September 14, 2016, the ACC announced that the 2017 tournament slated to be played in Durham, NC, along with neutral site championships for seven other sports, would be moved out of the state of North Carolina due to the controversial NC House Bill 2.[4] On October 4, 2016, it was announced that Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky, would be the new host venue for 2017.[5]

On October 6, 2016, the ACC announced that the tournament would expand to twelve teams and have a new format. The regular season winners of the Atlantic and Coastal divisions claim the top two seeds, while the remaining seeds are determined by conference winning percentage. The teams are split up into four pools of three teams each. The pools are a round robin format, with each team in the tournament guaranteed a minimum of two games. If a pool fails to produce a team with two wins, the top seed automatically advances.[6] The four winners of pool play then advance to a four team, single-elimination bracket to determine the conference champion.[7]

Champions

By year

YearSchoolSiteMVP
1973Boshamer Stadium • Chapel Hill, NCNone Selected
1974Doak Field • Raleigh, NC
1975Boshamer Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC
1976ClemsonBeautiful Tiger FieldClemson, SC
1977Beautiful Tiger Field • Clemson, SC
1978Beautiful Tiger Field • Clemson, SC
1979No tournament due to conflict with exams
1980ClemsonDoak Field • Raleigh, NC
1981Boshamer Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC
1982Boshamer Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC
1983Boshamer Stadium • Chapel Hill, NCScott Bankhead, P, UNC
1984Durham Athletic ParkDurham, NCTodd Wilkinson, OF, UNC[8]
1985Russ Chandler Stadium • Atlanta, GAScott Jordan, OF, GT
1986Durham Athletic ParkDurham, NCJeff Distasio, 1B, GT
1987Greenville Municipal StadiumGreenville, SCTodd Shiver, P, GT
1988Greenville Municipal Stadium • Greenville, SCTy Griffin, 2B, GT
1989Greenville Municipal Stadium • Greenville, SCBrian Barnes, P, CU
1990Greenville Municipal Stadium • Greenville, SCSteve Estroff, 1B, UNC
1991ClemsonGreenville Municipal Stadium • Greenville, SCMichael Spiers, OF, CU
1992Greenville Municipal Stadium • Greenville, SCMatt Donahue, P, NCSU
1993ClemsonGreenville Municipal Stadium • Greenville, SCJeff Morris, 2B, CU
1994ClemsonGreenville Municipal Stadium • Greenville, SCShane Monahan, OF, CU
1995Florida StateGreenville Municipal Stadium • Greenville, SCJonathan Johnson, P, FSU
1996Durham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NCSeth Greisinger, P, UVA
1997Florida Power ParkSt. Petersburg, FLJeremy Morris, OF, FSU
1998Durham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NCJohn Hendricks, P, WF
1999Durham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NCAndrew Riepe, C, WF
2000Knights StadiumFort Mill, SCJason Basil, OF, GT
2001Knights Stadium • Fort Mill, SCDave Bush, P, WF
2002Florida Power ParkSt. Petersburg, FLStephen Drew, SS, FSU
2003Salem Memorial Baseball StadiumSalem, VABrian Burks, P, GT
2004Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium • Salem, VAShane Robinson, OF, FSU
2005Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville • Jacksonville, FLTyler Greene, SS, GT
2006ClemsonBaseball Grounds of Jacksonville • Jacksonville, FLTyler Colvin, OF, CU
2007North CarolinaBaseball Grounds of Jacksonville • Jacksonville, FLJosh Horton, DH, UNC
2008Miami (FL)Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville • Jacksonville, FLDave DiNatale, OF, UM
2009VirginiaDurham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NCDan Grovatt, OF, UVA
2010Florida StateNewBridge Bank ParkGreensboro, NCHarold Riggins, 1B, NCSU
2011VirginiaDurham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NCSteven Proscia, 3B, UVA
2012NewBridge Bank ParkGreensboro, NCJake Davies, 1B/DH/UT, GT
2013North CarolinaDurham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NCCody Stubbs, 1B, UNC
2014NewBridge Bank Park • Greensboro, NCDusty Isaacs, P, GT
2015Florida StateDurham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NCBoomer Biegalski, P, FSU
2016ClemsonDurham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NCMike Triller, DH, CU
2017Florida StateLouisville Slugger FieldLouisville, KYJackson Lueck, OF, FSU
2018Durham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NCCal Raleigh, C, FSU
2019North CarolinaDurham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NCMichael Busch, 1B, UNC
2020Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
2021DukeTruist FieldCharlotte, NCJoey Loperfido, OF, DUKE
2022North CarolinaTruist FieldCharlotte, NCVance Honeycutt, Inf/OF, UNC
2023ClemsonDurham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NCCaden Grice, Utility/P, CU
2024DukeTruist FieldCharlotte, NCDevin Obee, OF, Duke
2025Durham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NC
2026Truist FieldCharlotte, NC
2027Durham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NC
2028Truist FieldCharlotte, NC
2029Durham Bulls Athletic ParkDurham, NC

By school

All current ACC members with baseball programs have appeared at least once in the tournament. Syracuse, which joined the conference in 2013, has not sponsored varsity baseball since 1972.

SchoolAppearancesWLPctTitlesTitle Years
Boston College6680
Clemson5011976111976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2006, 2016, 2023
Duke40336322021, 2024
Florida State31864481995, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018
Georgia Tech44827191985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2012, 2014
Louisville87130
Maryland3319540
Miami (FL)19272712008
NC State49938541973, 1974, 1975, 1992
North Carolina48907381982, 1983, 1984, 1990, 2007, 2013, 2019, 2022
Notre Dame74120
Pittsburgh5660
Virginia50628131996, 2009, 2011
Virginia Tech86110
Wake Forest45577641977, 1998, 1999, 2001
Italics indicate school is no longer a member of the ACC.
Updated through 2023

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2010 ACC Baseball Championship moves to Greensboro, N.C.'s NewBridge Bank Park - the Official Athletic Site of the Atlantic Coast Conference . 2013-03-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927142137/http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/050509aaa.html . 2011-09-27 . dead .
  2. News: ACC moves 3 future baseball tourneys. Associated Press. 2009-07-06. 2009-07-06.
  3. Web site: Atlantic Coast Conference.
  4. Web site: Statements from the Atlantic Coast Conference | News . 2016-10-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161006145419/http://www.theacc.com/news/statements-from-the-atlantic-coast-conference-09-14-2016 . 2016-10-06 . dead .
  5. Web site: ACC Announces Sites for Eight 2016–17 Championships | News . 2016-10-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161008115809/http://www.theacc.com/news/acc-announces-sites-for-eight-championships-10-04-2016 . 2016-10-08 . dead .
  6. Web site: New ACC baseball format unsatisfactory, yet unavoidable . May 22, 2017 . Luke DeCock . The Charlotte Observer . May 21, 2019 .
  7. Web site: ACC Announces Baseball Championship Expansion, Format Change | News . 2016-10-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161009154912/http://www.theacc.com/news/acc-announces-baseball-championship-expansion-format-change-10-06-2016 . 2016-10-09 . dead .
  8. All-Atlantic Coast Conference. 2014 North Carolina Baseball Media Guide. UNC Athletic Communications staff. 72. etal.