Founding the ACC: The Origins of a Major Collegiate Athletic Conference, 1951-1953

by Robert B. McCormick

Overview

In 1953, seven universities seceded from the NCAA's Southern Conference to form the Atlantic Coast Conference. Founding members Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest were soon joined by Virginia. Inspired by national academic and gambling scandals, and a bowl game crisis in 1951, the ACC's leaders hoped to reduce the commercialism and professionalism that permeated college athletics in the 1950s.

This first ever full-length history examines founding of the ACC, the star athletes and coaches and football and basketball season highlights, along with the negotiations that led to the creation one of America's most successful athletic conferences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476689944
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	08/31/2023
Pages:	269
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.54(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert B. McCormick is a professor of history at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
1. The Schools and Men Who Built a Conference
2. Reform in the Era of National and Local Scandals
3. Banning Bowls
4. Southern Conference Football and the 1951 Bowl Crisis
5. The Everett Case Invitational: Southern Conference Basketball, 1951–1952
6. Conference Struggles and Ineffective Reforms in 1952
7. A Reduced League: Southern Conference Football, 1952
8. The Last Was the Best: Southern Conference Basketball, 1952–1953
9. The Atlantic Coast Conference Is Born
10. ACC Football: The First Season
Conclusion
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

An in-depth account of the rationale behind, and the machinations of, the creation of the Atlantic Coast Conference.”—Adam Criblez, professor of history, Southeast Missouri State University

From the Publisher