FSU and the ACC
By Jim Joanos
Bernie Sliger was president of Florida State University for over fifteen years (August 31, 1976 - February 7, 1997, and August 31, 1993 - January 1, 1994). He was not only a very popular president but during his watch, FSU increased its national prominence athletically as well as academically. Under Sliger's leadership the university became the ninth member of the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1, 1991. That move was one of the biggest advances in FSU sports history.
For years following the university's re-entry into intercollegiate athletics in 1947, FSU had faced problems in scheduling and acceptance as a top ranked athletics program. Almost suddenly, following a string of very successful seasons by the FSU football team coached by Bobby Bowden, the university became very attractive to several major athletic conferences who sought to expand. When the ACC came calling, the opportunity was too good to turn down. The academic reputation as well as the financial aspects of the ACC made it by far the most appealing choice. Membership in the ACC placed FSU in the most academically prestigious of all Division IA conferences as well as a conference that would provide excellent athletic and financial opportunities.
Recently, Dr. Sliger commented on FSU's membership in the ACC. He said that he feels "very good about it" and that as a result of ACC conference membership "many good things have happened". He further stated that "academically, it has been a good thing---we are with a group of good schools which can only enhance our own reputation." He gives former Athletic Director Bob Goin and longtime FSU supporters George Langford and the late, Marguerite Williams much credit in aiding in the decision.
It has been nearly thirteen years since FSU entered the ACC. Soon, the conference will be expanding with the addition of three more universities, the University of Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. It is a good time to look back and enjoy some of the nice memories that membership in the ACC has brought to FSU fans.
When FSU joined the conference, most expected that FSU would do well in football but not so well in basketball as the ACC was known as a very competitive conference in basketball, but not as strong in football. Those expectations turned out to be reality. Few had any idea when FSU joined the ACC, how the Seminoles would fare in the sports other than football and basketball. FSU had been overwhelmingly successful in nearly all sports in the Metro Conference. However, in competing with ACC programs, it would be competing with programs that not only had been in existence for nearly a century but programs that ranked among the best in the country and prided themselves in all-round outstanding athletics programs. As it turned out, while FSU's other teams have not dominated in the same manner as the football team, they have, for the most part, been quite competitive. So far, in just shy of thirteen years, FSU has compiled thirty-three ACC team championships.
FOOTBALL
FSU's football team led the way in ACC accomplishments. The football Seminoles won their first twenty-nine conference games without a loss. To date, FSU has compiled a conference record of ninety wins and but six losses. In the twelve seasons, FSU has won the conference football crown every year except 2001. On nine of those occasions, FSU won the championship outright, while in 1995 and in 1998, the Seminoles shared the title with Virginia and Georgia Tech, respectively. Most importantly, FSU has also won two (1993 and 1999) national football championships in the process. Also very importantly, again in all but the 2001 season, FSU has been the ACC representative in one of the elite bowl games at the end of the year.
Recently, "CollegeFootballNews.Com" issued an internet story listing what it determined to be the twenty greatest ACC football teams of all time. The top two teams on the list were the FSU teams of 1993 and 1999, in that order. In all, of the first fourteen teams listed, nine were FSU ones. According to that story, although FSU has only played twelve seasons in the conference, nine of its teams rank among the best fourteen in the fifty-one year history of the league. Pretty good, for a newcomer!
Since joining the ACC, FSU has had a huge number of outstanding football players. When the ACC Fifty Year Football Team was released in 2002, it included eight Seminoles: Peter Boulware (1994-96), Derrick Brooks (1991-94), Warrick Dunn (1993-96), Sebastian Janikowski (1997-99), Marvin Jones (1990-92), Charlie Ward (1990-93), Peter Warrick (1996-99) and Chris Wienke (1997-2000). More importantly, five of those FSU football players, Brooks, Dunn, Ward, Warrick, and Weinke, were among the top 50 male athletes of the first fifty years of the conference in all sports when that list was issued in January of 2003.
SOFTBALL
Softball is the other sport in which FSU has been able to almost totally dominate the conference. In the thirteen seasons, the softball team has finished in first place in regular season conference competition eleven times and won eleven ACC tournament championships. In all thirteen of the seasons, the team has won more than 50 games. Softball is the only ACC sport in which FSU has competed that all nine other ACC schools did not. In addition to FSU, five others (Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Virginia) play softball.
The Fifty Year ACC Softball Team released in 2002 reflected FSU's dominance in that of the 52 players listed, 25 were Seminoles. The list included Rebecca Aase (1991-94), Dana Bailey (1996-99), Leslie Barton (1990-93), Serita Brooks (2000-01), Susan Buttery (1990-93), Myssi Calkins (1994-97), Kimmy Carter (1999-2001), Danielle Cox (1998-99), Lisa Davidson (1991-94), Renee Espinoza (1995-96), Kristy Fuentes (1994-97), Toni Gutierrez (1990-93), Kristy Hull (1995-98), Christy Larsen (1991-92), Cindy Lawton (1994-95), Marla Looper (1993-94), Leslie Malerich (1999-2001), Shannon Mitchem (1989-92), Misty Molin (1995-98), Penny Siqueiros (1989-92), Brandi Stuart (2000-01), Jessica Van der Linden (2001-present), Stacy Venable (1997-99), Jen White-Stokes (1998-2001), and Shamalene Wilson (1993-95). Most of the FSU players on the 50 year list also made All American teams. Cox (1999), Davidson (1993), Stuart (2003), and Wilson (1996) were first team All Americans. Since the fifty year list came out, Jessica van der Linden, who is still currently playing for the Lady Seminoles, became a first team All American last year (2003). She was the ACC player of the year for both the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
BASEBALL
FSU's baseball ACC accomplishments have not been shabby either as the Noles picked up ACC tournament championships in 1995, 1997, 2002, and 2004. In six of the thirteen ACC regular seasons, FSU has placed first. In all thirteen of the seasons, FSU has made it to NCAA post season play. In seven of those seasons (1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000), the team made it all the way to the College World Series. In 1999 and 2000, the Seminoles finished second and third, respectively, in the country.
Although FSU had been in the conference for only eleven seasons, no less than six Seminoles were named to the All ACC Fifty Year Baseball Team when it was announced in September of 2002. All six were also All Americans. They were: Paul Wilson who pitched for FSU when the team first began ACC conference play (1992-94) and was the very first chosen in the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft; Jonathan Johnson (1993-95) who overlapped with Wilson on the FSU pitching staff, was 34-5 and had a 2.62 ERA in three seasons with the Noles, and was taken by the Texas Rangers in the first round (7th overall pick) of the 1995 draft; J.D. Drew (1995-97), perhaps, the best Seminole baseball player of all time, who is the only Division 1 college baseball player to ever hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season (1997) and who was the Golden Spikes Award winner in 1997, as college baseball's most outstanding player of the year; Jeremy Morris (1994-97) a teammate of Drew's for three years who set the ACC's all time RBI record; Marshall McDougall (1999-2000) who is best remembered for hitting six home runs in one game (at Maryland in 1999) and who was also the ACC Player of the Year in 1999; and John Ford Griffin (1999-2001), a "hitting machine", one of the best pure hitters in FSU history, who batted .427, the best not only in FSU history but also the best in ACC history. J.D. Drew was also selected to the list of the Top 50 ACC Male Athletes of all time.
TRACK AND FIELD, CROSS COUNTRY
Track and field competition has provided FSU with a number of championships also. Among the men's and women's teams in indoor and outdoor competition, FSU has collected six ACC championships. The men's team won indoor track titles in 1995, 2003, and this winter, 2004. They also won the outdoor track and field championships in 2002 and 2003. The women's team won the ACC outdoor championship in 2002. In 2004, the men finished second and the women were third in the ACC meet.
When the ACC Fifty Year Track and Field Teams were released two years ago, they included a number of Seminoles. The Men's Indoor Team included Jeff Bray (1990-93) and Philip Riley (1993-96). The Men's Outdoor Team also included Riley and Bray, along with Jonathan Carter (1993-96) and Joe Allen (2000-01). Bray still holds the ACC Outdoor and Indoor pole vault records of 18 feet 6 and ½ inches in the outdoor which he set in 1992 and 18 feet six inches in the indoor which he set in 1993. The Women's Indoor Team included Tonya Carter (1997-2000), Sheryl Covington (1991-94), Samantha George (1997-2000), Laura Gerber (1999-2001), and Erica Shepard (1994-97). Carter and George were also on the Women's Outdoor Team along with Sophia Danvers (1994-97), and Trinette Johnson (1990-93). The Lady Seminoles currently hold several ACC records including outdoor records in the 4 X 400 Meter Relay Record of 3:31.18 set in 1996 and 14 ft even in the pole vault set by Lacy Janson in 2002. Two ACC indoor records are also held by Lady Seminoles: Tonya Carter, 60m dash, 7.15, set in 2000; Lacy Janson, pole vault, 13'9", set in 2003.
Despite not yet winning a championship, the FSU men's and women's cross country teams have become increasingly more competitive in conference competition especially in the last four years since Bob Braman became the head coach. The men finished second in the conference this past season as well as placing among the top thirty teams in the country. The team's previous high in the conference was a fifth place. The men's team is positioned to soon challenge North Carolina State, the ACC's dominant men's cross country program. Wolfpack has won eight of the last nine ACC championships in the sport. The FSU women's team placed fifth in the conference meet this past fall. They made it to the national championship meet both of the last two years and appear to be on the threshold of challenging the other top teams in the ACC.
VOLLEYBALL
The FSU volleyball team won the ACC championship in 1998. They were runners up in 1992, 1993, and 2001. They placed third three other times. This team's success enabled them to place five players on the ACC Fifty Year Volleyball Team. They included Fiona Bolten (1997-98), Norisha Campbell (1998-2001), Luiza Ramos (1991-94), Holly Schneider (1995-98), and Alisha Thornton (1996-99).
WOMEN'S SOCCER
The soccer team has not won an ACC championship but just this fall this women's team surprised a lot of people in the NCAA championships and advanced all the way to the nation's Final Four. In ACC play the team finished second to perennial national champion North Carolina during the regular season and in the conference tournament. Coach Patrick Baker is a top flight coach and super recruiter. Consequently, the future is very promising for the Soccer Noles.
SWIMMING AND DIVING
FSU's swimming and diving teams have not won any ACC championships but, perhaps, that will change in the not too distant future. The Men's team has finished second the last two seasons in a row to Virginia. The Cavaliers have been the dominant men's team in the ACC in this sport having won the last six conference championships. FSU's women finished third this past fall. In women's competition, the University of Virginia has also won the last two ACC titles in this sport. Of special note is that Emma Dutton of FSU was this year's ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year while FSU's coach Neil Harper received the honors as the ACC's Coach of the Year. Both the men's and women's teams received the ACC's Sportsmanship Award for 2004.
When the ACC Fifty Year Teams were announced in 2002, both the men's and women's swimming teams had members on the list. For the men, the list included Rob Braknis (1994-98), Brendon Dedekind (1996-99), Stephen Parry (1996-99), Brett Peterson (1997-2000), and Julio Santos (1997-99). Parry and Dedekind have both been national champions in their events. Parry won the 200-fly event in the NCAA championship meet in Minneapolis in 1997 with a time of 1:44.28. Dedekind won two national championship individual titles. In 1998 he won the 50 free. In 1999 he won the 100-breast. Braknis, Dedekind, Parry Petersen, and Santos have all competed internationally since leaving FSU. There were two from FSU on the 50 Year ACC Women's Swimming and Diving team: Christy Cech (2000-01) and Samantha White (1996-99).
BASKETBALL
Neither FSU men's or women's basketball teams have any ACC championships to brag about. However, during the first two regular seasons (1992 and 1993) of play in the ACC, the men's team finished in second place. In those two years, the team made it to the sweet sixteen and elite eight, respectively, of the NCAA championships. The two teams fielded a starting five that ranks with the best in FSU history. They included Charlie Ward, Bob Sura, Sam Cassell, Douglas Edwards, and Rodney Dobard. Ward (1994), Sura (1995), Cassell (1993), and Edwards (1993) all were first round NBA draft picks. Since then, FSU has had only moderate success. However, with the recent addition of coach Leonard Hamilton, FSU looks to once again challenge the top echelon of the ACC in the very near future. A big step was taken this past season.
The best the women's team has done was two fourth place finishes (2001 and 2003) as well as a fifth place finish this year (2004). Two of their players have been good enough to be named among the top 50 ACC women's basketball players of the first fifty years of the conference when that list was released in 2001. Tia Paschal (1990-93) and Brooke Wyckoff (1998-2001) were so honored. Paschal was a first team All ACC member in 1993 as well as a second team All American. Wyckoff was on the ACC All Freshman Team in 1998, third team All ACC in 1999 and 2000, and first team All ACC in 2001. Wyckoff plays professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association.
GOLF AND TENNIS
Golf and tennis are the only other sports in which FSU has not yet won an ACC championship in either men's or women's competition. However, in tennis both the men and the women have come close. In 1995, 1996, and 2003, the men's team finished second and on three other occasions, they finished third in regular season play. Last year (2003) FSU's Matt Cloer became the first Seminole ever selected as the ACC's Men's Tennis Player of the Year. Cloer received the honor again in 2004 and in doing so became only the third player in ACC history to won the award twice. He has another year at FSU.
FSU's Lise Gregory was recently honored as the ACC's women's tennis coach of the year for 2004. The women's tennis team finished second in 1994 and third on three other occasions. Duke has won the ACC women's regular season championship every year that FSU has been in the conference with the exception of 2002 when North Carolina won it. The Fifty Year ACC Women's team included two Seminoles, Alida Gallovits (1998-2001) and Lori Sowell (1993-96). Two of FSU's coaches have been honored as the ACC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year. Alice Reen won the honor in 1994 and Lise Gregory in 1999 and in 2004. Audra Brannon was the conference player of the year in 1994 and Lori Sowell was the Rookie of the Year, also in 1994.
While the Women's Golf Team has not won any conference crowns, they have finished second twice (1992 and 1999), third once (2001) and fourth seven times (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2002). They also managed to place three players, Amy Bond (1996-99), Karen Stupples (1992-95), and Louise Wright (1998-2001) on the ACC Fifty Year Women's Golf Team.
The best that the men's golf team has done in the conference was a third place finish in 1994. While the men's golf team did not place any on the fifty year team, they have managed to have three players named to the All ACC annual teams during conference membership, Bobby Cochran (1994), Christian Raynor (1994 and 1995), and George McNeill (1998).