Clemson's ACC Championship history is long and storied

Clemson topped Notre Dame in the Irish's one shot at an ACC football title in 2020.

David Hood · Senior Writer · Wednesday, May 21 2025

The ACC Football Kickoff starts in 62 days, and Clemson will likely earn the most votes as the prohibitive conference favorite.

A recent conversation with a Miami fan – the U – is the genesis of me wanting to look up ACC football championships and Clemson’s place in that history. The Miami fan was a little put out because I mentioned that I needed to see Miami win something – anything – before I would vote for them to win a conference title or even pick them as a breakout team.

I stated that Miami has been in the ACC since 2004 and has yet to win a conference title, and hasn’t won a major bowl since defeating Florida State 16-14 in the 2004 Orange Bowl. In fact, Miami has lost 12 of its last 13 bowl games.

And if you’re gauging success on championships? Well, Clemson has been pretty good. Clemson has won eight of the last 10 ACC championships. Its eight conference titles are the most of any program nationally in that 10-year window. Back in December, Clemson made its 10th all-time ACC Championship Game appearance, adding to the Tigers’ ACC record (2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022). Clemson became the fifth program ever to appear in 10 conference title games all-time, joining Alabama (15), Florida (13), Oklahoma (12) and Georgia (12).

With that win, Clemson became the first program to win 22 ACC titles. Since helping form the conference in 1953, Clemson leads the ACC with 22 titles all-time, including 21 outright. Clemson earned its 28th overall conference championship all-time, including four SIAA championships and two Southern Conference championships prior to the formation of the ACC. Clemson’s 28 conference titles across all conferences are the most of any current or former ACC member. Clemson tied Utah (28) for the 10th-most conference titles among current FBS programs.

Ok, Clemson is pretty good at this conference championship thing. Where do the other schools stand? As it turns out, Clemson (22) and Florida State (16) have combined for 38 ACC titles. All of the other schools that have played in the ACC since 1953 have won 40 combined.

Dabo Swinney note: Swinney is now 9-1 in ACC Championship Games. His nine wins are triple the wins of any other coach in the ACC’s championship game era (Jimbo Fisher and Frank Beamer, three each). Since the creation of the ACC Championship Game in 2005, 55 different full-time head coaches have coached at least one season in the ACC. Swinney has won nine ACC Championship Games in that span while the other 54 coaches have combined for 11 (four of which came prior to Swinney’s promotion to full-time head coach).

Clemson and Florida State are the only programs with double-digit ACC championships, but Maryland is third all-time with the nine the Terrapins won before escaping the ACC for the Big Ten.

NC State has won seven ACC titles, but hasn’t hoisted the trophy since 1979. Duke also has seven and last won the league in 1989, when some guy named Steve Spurrier was the head coach. UNC? The Tar Heels have five titles but none since 1980. Virginia Tech has four (the last in 2010), Georgia Tech has two (the 2009 title was vacated due to NCAA violations), Virginia has two (last in 1995), Wake Forest has two (last in 2006), and South Carolina and Pitt have one each. (Yes, South Carolina has more ACC titles than Miami, but Tulane has more SEC titles than South Carolina.)

Louisville, Miami, Boston College, and Syracuse have never won an ACC title. Cal, Stanford, and SMU joined the league last year, and Notre Dame failed in its one shot (during the COVID 2020 season). California, North Carolina State, Stanford, and Syracuse have not appeared in an ACC Football Championship Game.

The Tigers will take another swing at it in 2025.