ACC Sponsors Women’s Gymnastics Beginning in 2023-24 Academic Year; Clemson adds women’s lacrosse and women’s gymnastics

GREENSBORO, NC (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today that women’s gymnastics will be the league’s 28th sponsored sport from the 2023-24 academic year. The announcement follows the Clemson University release confirming that women’s lacrosse and gymnastics will be added as varsity programs in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively.

“The ACC remains committed to maximizing the educational and sporting opportunities for our student-athletes – in the classroom, in competition and in life,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips. “The addition of women’s lacrosse and gymnastics to Clemson, combined with the addition of women’s gymnastics as the 28th sponsored sport in the league, adds to our incredible collection of sports programs.”

In accordance with the league’s sports operating code, the conference holds a championship in each NCAA sport, in which at least four member institutions form collegial teams. The ACC will now sponsor 15 women’s and 13 men’s sports and will have the most women’s sports offering of any Power 5 conference, while its 28 sponsored sports will score the most.

There are currently three ACC institutions sponsoring women’s gymnastics (North Carolina, NC State, and Pitt), all of which currently compete in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League. With Clemson, the ACC will have four programs, the necessary number in the league’s sports operating code to host a conference championship. The ACC sponsored a conference championship in women’s gymnastics as early as 1984.

Women’s fencing was the last official conference sport established by the ACC in the 2014-15 academic year. Before that, women’s rowing (1999-2000) was the last sport to be added to the ACC portfolio.

Clemson’s addition of women’s lacrosse for the 2022-23 season will give the ACC 10 programs in that sport – most of any conference. The ACC began four programs to sponsor women’s lacrosse in 1997 and has grown to become the leading conference in the country by including Virginia Tech (2005), Boston College (2006), Notre Dame (2014), Syracuse (2014), and Louisville (2015) added. Pitt will join the league for its opening year 2021-22, with Clemson becoming the league’s tenth team the following year.

The ACC women’s lacrosse teams have partnered for 11 national titles since the sport was launched in 1997, including Boston College’s first NCAA championship in 2021. At least one ACC team has played in 11 of the last 12 national championship games played.

The league will have discussions on the regular season and postseason formats of the conference at future ACC meetings.