University of North Carolina Athletics
From Fetzer to Finley: A Critical Look At Issues Involving UNC Olympic Sports
February 19, 2001 | General
Feb. 19, 2001
By Dave Lohse
Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Last weekend the University of North Carolina's women's swimming and diving and women's indoor track and field teams captured their respective 2001 Atlantic Coast Conference championships. This continued a trend, which has become familiar to fans of Tar Heel athletics. Year in and year out the performance of UNC Olympic sports teams in ACC championship competition and in the Sears Directors Cup is the envy of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
For the past 13 years, beginning in 1987-88, Carolina has won more or as many ACC championships as any other school in the league each and every year. In 10 of those 13 years Carolina has been the outright winner in terms of the number of titles accumulated and in the other three years UNC has shared the lead in the category.
It appears that this school year the Tar Heels are in a great position to achieve the feat again. Of the first 10 ACC championships decided, Tar Heel teams have won five. Carolina has won titles in men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball, women's indoor track and field and women's swimming and diving. Five other schools have won one championship each so far--Clemson in men's indoor track and field, Florida State in football, Duke in men's cross country, NC State in women's cross country and Maryland in field hockey. Twenty-five ACC championships are decided each year--12 in men's sports and 13 in women's sports. The only sports Carolina sponsors which do not have ACC championships are men's and women's fencing and women's gymnastics.
It should come as no surprise that Carolina has done so well so early in the school year. Historically, because of sports like women's soccer, field hockey, swimming and indoor track--Tar Heel teams have always done well in the fall and winter sports. Carolina has done even better the last couple of years as volleyball ended a decade-long ACC championship drought by winning back-to-back titles and men's soccer had a brilliant 2000 season that resulted in the Tar Heels' first conference title in 13 years.
Although conference titles do not in any way earn points in the Sears Directors Cup competition there exists a correlation between being a kingpin of the league in championship competition and which schools do the best in the annual national rankings, which are based on finishes in NCAA Tournament competition. Therefore it shouldn't surprise anyone that Carolina has been the highest-ranking ACC team in the Sears Cup every year except one since its creation in 1993-94. Carolina won the Sears Cup in 1994 and has been in the top six in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000. The only year it wasn't the highest-ranking ACC team was 1999 when it finished 17th.
It is appropriate that this school year Carolina and Duke have hooked up in the new Carlyle Cup competition that rates head to head competition between the two schools. That's because Carolina's chief competition in both the annual ACC championships competition and the Sears Cup standings is now a mere 11 miles down the road. Each of the past two years Blue Devil teams have won as many (but not more) ACC titles, as have Carolina teams. And two years ago Duke was the highest ranking ACC school in the Sears Cup standings ahead of Carolina.
Again the fact that Duke is now the chief competition should come as no surprise to folks who closely follow ACC sports. Over the past decade the Blue Devils have been nearly unbeatable in sports like women's tennis, women's golf and men's tennis. The Blue Devils have strong programs in lacrosse and soccer and we all know what they have accomplished in men's basketball since Coach K arrived in Durham. Kudos must also go to Coach Gail Goestenkors' women's basketball program which two years ago played in the national championship game and last year won its first ACC championship. The rise of women's basketball at Duke just gives the Tar Heels another great program against which it has to compete on a regular basis.
ut that's okay. Competition is good. If Carolina is to remain the top overall athletic program in the ACC it needs to be tested on all fronts, whether that is winning ACC titles, ranking high in the Sears Directors Cup or finding a way to win this new fangled Carlyle Cup thing. We'll survive the onslaught of the Blue Devils. One way or another.
