List of Atlantic Coast Conference national championships explained

The list of ACC national champions begins in the Atlantic Coast Conference's first full academic year of competition in 1953 and totals 153 NCAA team national championships and 8 FBS national championships in football. ACC members won a total of five national championships in the 2020–21 school year—in fencing (Notre Dame), field hockey (North Carolina), men's lacrosse (Virginia), women's lacrosse (Boston College) and in women's swimming and diving (Virginia).

Listed below are all championship teams of NCAA sponsored events, as well as the titles won in football, which is not an official NCAA-sanctioned championship. Up to 1982, teams representing member schools also claimed five Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championships.

Totals by school

The following table ranks the current ACC schools by the number of NCAA recognized national championships each school has won as an ACC member. This does not include Division I-A/FBS football championships, or Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championships.

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined Conference	Varsity Sports	NCAA Championships^[1] (as of April 23, 2023)	Pre-ACC Championships
Boston College	Eagles	Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	1863	2005	31	4	2
Clemson University	Tigers	Clemson, South Carolina	1889	1953	19	4	0
Duke University	Blue Devils	Durham, North Carolina	1838	1953	20	17	0
Florida State University	Seminoles	Tallahassee, Florida	1851	1991	17	11	4
	Yellow Jackets	Atlanta, Georgia	1885	1978	17	1	0
	Cardinals	Louisville, Kentucky	1798	2014	21	3	2
	Hurricanes	Coral Gables, Florida	1925	2004	17	5	5
	Tar Heels	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	1789	1953	27	48	0
North Carolina State University	Wolfpack	Raleigh, North Carolina	1887	1953	25	5	0
	Fighting Irish	South Bend, Indiana	1842	2013	23	22	14
	Panthers	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	1787	2013	19	0	0
Syracuse University	Orange	Syracuse, New York	1870	2013	20	16	13
	Cavaliers	Charlottesville, Virginia	1819	1953	26	32	1
	Hokies	Blacksburg, Virginia	1872	2004	21	0	0
Wake Forest University	Demon Deacons	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	1834	1953	18	10	0

Fall sports

Men's cross country (1)

See also: NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship.

• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Syracuse won one NCAA team title in 1951.
• In 2015, Syracuse won its second NCAA team title with a score of 82 points, beating out Colorado (91) and Stanford (151). Syracuse was led by Justin Knight (4th), Colin Bennie (8th), and Martin Hehir (9th), and an All-American performance from Philo Germano (39th) secured the victory. Joel Hubbard (47th) rounded out the scoring for the Orange. The coaching staff included Brien Bell, Adam Smith and Head Coach Chris Fox, who was subsequently named USTFCCCA National Men's Coach of the Year.

Women's cross country (7)

See also: NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship.

Year	School	Notes
1979	NC State	AIAW
1980	NC State	AIAW
1981	Virginia
1982	Virginia
2021	NC State
2022	NC State
2023	NC State

Field hockey (22)

See also: NCAA Women's Field Hockey Championship.

Year	School
1987	Maryland
1989	North Carolina
1993	Maryland
1995	North Carolina
1996	North Carolina
1997	North Carolina
1999	Maryland
2002	Wake Forest
2003	Wake Forest
2004	Wake Forest
2005	Maryland
2006	Maryland
2007	North Carolina
2008	Maryland
2009	North Carolina
2010	Maryland
2011	Maryland
2015	Syracuse
2018	North Carolina
2019	North Carolina
2020	North Carolina
2022	North Carolina
2023	North Carolina

Football (8)

See also: College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS.

The NCAA does not name an official champion for Division I-A/FBS football. The following table lists national titles that are reported by the NCAA's web page.^[2]

Year	School	Notes
1953	Maryland	AP, Coaches, UPI
1981	Clemson	AP, Coaches, UPI
1990	Georgia Tech	Coaches
1993	Florida State	AP, Coaches
1999	Florida State	AP, BCS, Coaches
2013	Florida State	AP, BCS, Coaches
2016	Clemson	AP, CFP, Coaches
2018	Clemson	AP, CFP, Coaches

• Prior to joining the ACC in 1978, Georgia Tech was named national champion in 1917, 1928, and 1952 by the Helms Athletic Foundation.
• Prior to joining the ACC in 2004, Miami was named national champion in 1983 (AP & UPI), 1987 (AP & UPI), 1989 (AP & Coaches), 1991 (AP), and 2001 (AP, Coaches, BCS).
• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Syracuse won a national championship in 1959.
• Prior to joining the ACC in 2005, Boston College claims a national championship in 1940.
• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Pittsburgh claims national championships in 1915, 1916, 1918, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1937, and 1976.^[3] Other sources credit the Panthers with up to 8 additional national championships. See Pitt football national championships for more details.^[4]
• Notre Dame, which joined the ACC in non-football sports in 2013 but remains an FBS independent, officially claims 11 national titles. Many sources, however, credit the Fighting Irish with 13 titles. See Notre Dame Fighting Irish football national championships for more details.

Men's soccer (17)

See also: NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.

Year	School	Notes
1968	Maryland	Shared with Michigan State; championship match was tied after two overtime periods.
1984	Clemson
1987	Duke
1988	Clemson
1989	Virginia	Shared with Santa Clara; championship match was stopped after two overtime periods due to weather.
1991	Virginia
1992	Virginia
1993	Virginia
1994	Virginia
2001	North Carolina
2005	Maryland
2007	Wake Forest
2008	Maryland
2009	Virginia
2011	North Carolina
2013	Notre Dame
2014	Virginia
2021	Clemson
2022	Syracuse
2023	Clemson

Women's soccer (24)

See also: NCAA Women's Soccer Championship (disambiguation).

Year	School	Notes
1981	North Carolina	AIAW
1982	North Carolina
1983	North Carolina
1984	North Carolina
1986	North Carolina
1987	North Carolina
1988	North Carolina
1989	North Carolina
1990	North Carolina
1991	North Carolina
1992	North Carolina
1993	North Carolina
1994	North Carolina
1996	North Carolina
1997	North Carolina
1999	North Carolina
2000	North Carolina
2003	North Carolina
2006	North Carolina
2008	North Carolina
2009	North Carolina
2012	North Carolina
2014	Florida State
2018	Florida State
2021	Florida State

• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Notre Dame won three national titles (1995, 2004, 2010).

Winter sports

Men's basketball (15)

See also: NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship records.

Year	School	Notes
1957	North Carolina
1974	NC State
1982	North Carolina
1983	NC State
1991	Duke
1992	Duke
1993	North Carolina
2001	Duke
2002	Maryland
2005	North Carolina
2009	North Carolina
2010	Duke
2015	Duke
2017	North Carolina
2019	Virginia

• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Syracuse won one NCAA title (2003).
• Prior to joining the ACC in 2014, Louisville won two NCAA titles (1980, 1986). A third title in 2013 was vacated due to NCAA sanctions stemming from a major sex scandal.
• Prior to 1939 the NCAA did not sanction a post-season tournament to determine a national champion. Some schools claim basketball national championships based on polls from this era. Four current ACC schools claim pre-1939 national titles:
  • North Carolina (1924)
  • Notre Dame (1927, 1936)
  • Pittsburgh (1928, 1930)
  • Syracuse (1918, 1926)

Women's basketball (3)

See also: NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

Year	School
1994	North Carolina
2006	Maryland
2018	Notre Dame

• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Notre Dame won one NCAA title (2001).

Men's ice hockey (3)

See also: NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship.

Year	School
2008	Boston College
2010	Boston College
2012	Boston College

• The ACC does not sanction men's ice hockey. Boston College competes as a member of Hockey East. The Eagles also won national championships in 1949 and 2001 prior to their joining the ACC in 2005.

Women's indoor track and field (1)

See also: NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship.

Women's swimming and diving (4)

See also: NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Year	School
2021	Virginia
2022	Virginia
2023	Virginia
2024	Virginia

Fencing (3)

See also: NCAA Fencing Championships.

Year	School
2017	Notre Dame
2018	Notre Dame
2021	Notre Dame

• The ACC reinstated fencing as a sponsored sport in the 2014–15 school year.
• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Notre Dame won a total of eight national team titles: three men's (1977, 1978, 1986), one women's (1987), and four combined titles (1994, 2003, 2005, 2011).

Spring sports

Baseball (2)

See also: NCAA Division I Baseball Championship and College World Series.

Year	School
1955	Wake Forest
2015	Virginia

• Prior to joining the ACC in 2004, Miami won national championships in baseball in 1982, 1985, 1999, and 2001.

Men's golf (4)

See also: NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships.

Year	School
1974	Wake Forest
1975	Wake Forest
1986	Wake Forest
2003	Clemson

• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Notre Dame won an NCAA national championship in men's golf in 1944.

Women's golf (7)

See also: NCAA Women's Golf Championship.

Year	School
1999	Duke
2002	Duke
2005	Duke
2006	Duke
2007	Duke
2014	Duke
2019	Duke

• Prior to joining the ACC in 2004, Miami won the DGWS championship in 1970, AIAW championships in 1972, 1977, and 1978, and an NCAA national championship in 1984.
• Prior to joining the ACC in 1991, Florida State won the AIAW championship in 1981.

Men's lacrosse (21)

See also: NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship.

Year	School	Notes
1955	Maryland	Wingate Memorial Trophy
1956	Maryland	Wingate Memorial Trophy
1959	Maryland	Wingate Memorial Trophy
1967	Maryland	Wingate Memorial Trophy
1970	Maryland	Wingate Memorial Trophy
1972	Virginia
1973	Maryland
1975	Maryland
1981	North Carolina
1982	North Carolina
1986	North Carolina
1991	North Carolina
1999	Virginia
2003	Virginia
2006	Virginia
2010	Duke
2011	Virginia
2013	Duke
2014	Duke
2016	North Carolina
2019	Virginia
2021	Virginia

• Note: the NCAA began sanctioning men's lacrosse in 1971. Prior championships were awarded by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.
• Prior to becoming a charter member of the ACC in 1953, Maryland won non-NCAA national championships in 1928, 1936, 1937, 1939, and 1940.
• Prior to becoming a charter member of the ACC in 1953, Virginia won a non-NCAA national championship in 1952.
• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Syracuse won four non-NCAA national championships (1920, 1922, 1924, 1925) and 10 NCAA national championships (1983, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009). Another championship in 1990 was vacated due to NCAA violations.

Women's lacrosse (17)

See also: NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship.

Year	School	Notes
1981	Maryland	AIAW
1986	Maryland
1991	Virginia
1992	Maryland
1993	Virginia
1995	Maryland
1996	Maryland
1997	Maryland
1998	Maryland
1999	Maryland
2000	Maryland
2001	Maryland
2004	Virginia
2010	Maryland
2013	North Carolina
2014	Maryland
2016	North Carolina
2021	Boston College
2022	North Carolina

Men's outdoor track and field (2)

See also: NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

Year	School
2006	Florida State
2008	Florida State

• Florida State's 2007 national championship was vacated by the NCAA's Committee on Infractions.^[5]

Women's rowing (2)

See also: NCAA Rowing Championship.

Year	School
2010	Virginia
2012	Virginia

Softball (1)

See also: NCAA Division I Softball Championship and Women's College World Series.

Women's tennis (2)

See also: NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship.

Year	School
2007	Georgia Tech
2009	Duke
2023	North Carolina

Men's tennis (7)

See also: NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship.

Year	School
2013	Virginia
2015	Virginia
2016	Virginia
2017	Virginia
2018	Wake Forest
2022	Virginia
2023	Virginia

• Prior to joining the ACC in 2013, Notre Dame won one NCAA team title (1959, shared with Tulane).

See also

• List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships

Notes and References

1. Web site: CHAMPIONSHIPS SUMMARY .
2. Web site: FBS Football Championship History . National Collegiate Athletic Association . 2 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110522055720/http://www.ncaa.com/history/football/fbs . 22 May 2011 . dead .
3. Book: Borghetti. E.J.. Nestor. Mendy . Welsh. Celeste . 2008 Pitt Football Media Guide . University of Pittsburgh . 2008 . 156 . 2010-07-07.
4. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/bigeast/pittsburgh/all_national_champs.php College Football Data Warehouse: Pittsburgh All National Championships: Pittsburgh Total National Championships, accessdate=2009-04-08
5. Web site: NCAA appeals committee upholds Florida State penalties . National Collegiate Athletics Association . 2 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110611074454/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/ncaa/ncaa/ncaa+news/ncaa+news+online/2010/division+i/ncaa+appeals+committee+upholds+florida+state+penalties_01_05_10_ncaa_news . 11 June 2011 . dead .