Atlantic Coast Conference Quiz | Sports

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1. The formation of the Atlantic Coast Conference began on May 8, 1953, when seven schools withdrew from which established conference?

Answer: Southern Conference

One of the oldest collegiate athletic conferences in the country, the Southern Conference actually spawned two other major conferences--the Southeastern Conference, which includes former Southern Conference members Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, and the Atlantic Coast Conference, which includes former Southern Conference members Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.

At various times, schools like East Carolina, Virginia Tech and West Virginia were also part of the Southern Conference.

2. On December 4, 1953, the ACC voted to admit which school to join its original seven in the conference?

Answer: Virginia

Virginia withdrew from the Southern Conference in December, 1936, according to the official Atlantic Coast Conference website. The school, located in Charlottesville, boasts the cavalier as its mascot.

3. Among the many achievements associated with the ACC is the proliferation of college basketball on a syndicated regional network of television stations. What visionary was responsible for helping put ACC basketball on the map?

Answer: C. D. Chesley

For many years, ACC basketball games featured the play-by-play duo of Jim Thacker and Billy Packer. Thacker was a sports anchor at WBTV, Charlotte's CBS affiliate and one of the stations that faithfully carried games produced by C.D. Chesley. Packer played on Wake Forest's Final Four team in 1962, and first did color-analyst duty in 1972.

When Chesley's production company shut down in 1981, Raycom Sports and Jefferson-Pilot Sports paired up to take over the telecasts.

4. The ACC was founded in the same city in which it is headquartered. Which of the following cities is the conference's seat?

Answer: Greensboro, North Carolina

For many years, Wake Forest played its home basketball games at the Greensboro Coliseum, which is some twenty miles from its modern campus in Winston-Salem. The ACC men's and women's basketball tournaments have been a big draw in the city for many years.

5. Which of the following former athletes was NOT an alumnus of an ACC member institution?

Answer: Steve Spurrier

Steve Spurrier won the 1966 Heisman Trophy while playing for the Florida Gators. In addition to coaching the Gators to a national title in 1996, he has also coached football at ACC member Duke and at former ACC (and current SEC) member South Carolina.

Bonnie Bernstein (gymnastics, Maryland), Mia Hamm (soccer, North Carolina) and Charlie Ward (football and basketball, Florida State) are all ACC alums.

6. In what year did South Carolina, one of the charter members of the ACC, leave the conference?

Answer: 1971

South Carolina was the first school to drop out of the ACC, tendering its resignation in June, 1971. The conference operated with seven schools, until Georgia Tech joined in April, 1978. Ironically, South Carolina would join the Southeastern Conference in 1991, 27 years AFTER Georgia Tech left it.

7. Which ACC school was the first to reach the title game in the NCAA Women's Final Four?

Answer: Virginia

The number one seed in the Midwest Region in 1991, Virginia defeated Stephen F. Austin, Oklahoma State, and Lamar to reach the Final Four. In their national semi-final game, they defeated UConn 61-55. They took the Lady Vols of Tennessee to overtime before falling 70-67 in New Orleans in the championship game. North Carolina was the first ACC school to win a women's national title, defeating Louisiana Tech in 1994 in Richmond.

8. In 1999, ESPN helped create an in-season basketball challenge between the ACC and which major conference?

Answer: Big Ten Conference

The ACC-Big Ten Challenge has pitted the men's basketball teams from both conferences in an early-season series of games usually played in late November and early December. A similar series of games was started between the women's teams in 2007.

9. Established in 1789, the University of North Carolina is the oldest of the ACC's member institutions. But which of the following schools is the youngest?

Answer: Miami

The University of Miami is the only school in the ACC to be founded in the 20th Century. Specifically, it was chartered in 1925. Clemson University was founded in 1889, N.C. State was founded in 1887, and Virginia Tech was established in 1872.

10. The Dixie Classic, a men's basketball tournament played from 1949 until 1961 and featuring the ACC's "Big Four" schools (Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State, and Wake Forest), was the brainchild of which legendary ACC coach?

Answer: Everett Case

One of the trailblazers of the ACC's rich basketball lineage, Everett Case spent 18 years at N.C. State, winning the last six Southern Conference titles and the first three ACC championships. Not only was he instrumental in the formation of the Dixie Classic--a three-day tournament that featured the "Big Four" and four other teams from around the country--he also played a hand in the formation of the ACC Tournament, the best-known post-season basketball tournament in the country.

The Dixie Classic was discontinued in 1961, when a point-shaving scandal drew sanctions for both N.C. State and North Carolina.

11. Another sport that the ACC excels in is lacrosse (men's and women's), with a number of national championships under its belt. Which school was responsible for winning the ACC's first national title in women's lacrosse, in 1986?

Answer: Maryland

Between 1995 and 2001, Maryland's women's lacrosse team dominated the sport, winning seven straight national titles. Maryland's men's lacrosse team also claimed lacrosse championships in 1973 and 1975. North Carolina and Virginia have also claimed multiple lacrosse championships.

12. Which school was the first from the ACC to win the College World Series?

Answer: Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons defeated the Broncos of Western Michigan to win the College World Series, back in 1955, by a score of 7-6. The Deacs were in the Southern Conference when they lost to Texas 10-3 in the 1949 College World Series.

13. In 2006, Wake Forest shocked the college football world by winning their second ACC football championship. But in what year did the Demon Deacons win their first ACC title in football?

Answer: 1970

Although not known as a football power, Wake Forest has played in its share of bowl games over the years, including the 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl--their reward for winning the ACC title in 2006. The Deacs went 5-1 in the conference to win their first ACC football crown.

14. Prior to being named commissioner of the ACC in 1997, John Swofford served as the athletic director at which ACC school?

Answer: North Carolina

A native of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, John Swofford was a Morehead Scholar at North Carolina. After earning his master's degree in sports management from Ohio University, he returned to his alma mater and served as the athletic director from 1980 until succeeding Gene Corrigan as ACC Commissioner in 1997.

15. Boston College, which joined the ACC in 2005, has its famed Green Line Rivalry in ice hockey with which school?

Answer: Boston University

Officially joining the ACC on July 1, 2005, Boston College has added its own rich sports traditions to the conference. The Green Line Rivalry, named after the trolley line that links Boston University to Boston College, began in 1918. Both the Eagles and Terriers are members of Hockey East, an NCAA Division I ice hockey-only conference that includes Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

At the time it joined, Boston College was the only ACC team with a varsity hockey squad.

Source: Author cag1970

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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Atlantic Coast Conference Trivia Quiz

One of the best-known of the major American college sports leagues, the Atlantic Coast Conference is the subject of this quiz.

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