Classic Venues On This Season’s ACC Schedule

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Before everyone goes their merry way we want to bring attention to a few choice venues ACC teams will visit, mostly before Christmas with a few as winter winds down.

Right off the bat, or at least off the center jump, both North Carolina and NC State will be playing at Kansas, the Tar Heels on Nov. 8 and the Wolfpack on Dec. 14. That means those brave souls get to visit Allen Fieldhouse, with Cameron Indoor Stadium arguably the most venerated college arena in the country. (Please don’t make us say it’s “iconic”.)

Allen Fieldhouse is a crucial stop along the evolutionary trail of UNC basketball, the closest thing to a sister program the Tar Heels have.

James Naismith, the only man in KU history with a losing record, coached Phog Allen who coached Dean Smith (and UK’s Adolph Rupp and NCCU’s John McClendon). Larry Brown, a former Smith player and assistant, later directed the Jayhawks and star Danny Manning to the 1988 national title, ran afoul of NCAA rules and left the program on probation. (As Brown’s college coach, Frank McGuire, left UNC.)

Brown moved to the pros, as McGuire did when he left Chapel Hill, and was replaced by Roy Williams. Who retired in 2021 and was replaced by current coach Hubert Davis, who like Brown and Williams played for Smith.

Circles within circles, or at least secondary breaks within secondary breaks.

NC State has played Kansas a dozen times and won once, 66-63, in their first meeting, a Dec. 1958 game at Allen Fieldhouse. While Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts isn’t a chip off the KU block, in keeping with recent NC State tradition he is a chunk off the UK block. He worked earlier in his career for Rick Pitino, who also mentored former Pack coach Herb Sendek (1997-2006) at Kentucky.

Two other treasured college venues are on ACC 2024-25 itineraries: Miami plays Tennessee several weeks before Christmas at Madison Square Garden, and Duke faces Illinois on George Washington’s birthday at ‘the world’s most famous arena’.

Then there’s SMU’s sojourn to play Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Fans will recognize Hinkle, a 1928 structure located in Indianapolis, as the site where the classic basketball movie “Hoosiers” was filmed. The venerable brick building is a quintessential, hanger-like Midwestern fieldhouse complete with raised floor and much natural lighting in its upper reaches.

We accept as a given that all teams in the ACC last season had a chance to sample Cameron’s charms by now. New ACC member Cal comes to Durham on Lincoln’s birthday as a ’25 Cameron virgin with a 2-1 all-time record against Duke (most notably including an NCAA win in 1993). Fellow newbie Stanford was once the coaching home of Blue Devil great Johnny Dawkins, now at Central Florida. The Cardinal is 2-1 against Duke, meeting at neutral sites each time.