College football’s longest active conference title droughts

Atlantic Coast Conference

Longest Drought: N.C. State Wolfpack (Last title: 1979)

Upon leaving the Southern Conference to become a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953, NC State was not always an afterthought in football. The Wolfpack won their first ACC championship in 1957, and followed up with four titles during the 1960s. They won again in 1973 after Lou Holtz took over for Al Michaels as coach.

The two-decade run of success also included a seventh ACC title at the end of the 1970s when Bo Rein led the Wolfpack to the 1979 crown. NC State’s only conference loss during that season came against state rival North Carolina. Though they also fell to Auburn, South Carolina, and Penn State in non-conference play, the Wolfpack did enough to take the conference championship.

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Since that championship season, NC State finished second in league play in 1986, 1991, and 1994. Under Chuck Amato they went 11-3 in 2002, but that was good enough for only fourth in the ACC standings. The Wolfpack came close to playing for an ACC title under Tom O’Brien in 2010, but finished a game behind Florida State.

Honorable Mentions

• North Carolina Tar Heels: North Carolina’s last ACC championship came one year after their intrastate rival. At this point UNC fans have gone nearly four decades without celebrating a football title. At least they’ve had plenty of basketball success in that period to drown out their sorrows.
• Duke Blue Devils: Duke has made great strides in recent years, playing in several ACC championship games. But the Blue Devils have not broken through for a conference title since Steve Spurrier led the team to a crown in 1989.