ACC Coaches Directing Teams on Their Birthdays

One-third of the ACC’s coaches will guide their teams into action on their birthdays this season. That’s a huge change from recent practice. In both of the previous two seasons, a single coach celebrated his birthday in that manner.

Last season it Georgia Tech’s Brian Gregory, whose Yellow Jackets defeated Appalachian State on December 15. During the 2014 season it was NC State’s Mark Gottfried who successfully blew out Maryland’s candles on the Wolfpack’s home court at Raleigh.

This season five ACC head coaches will direct their squads as part of personal birthday festivities. That’s all but two of the seven coaches born during the period in which basketball games are played – November 15 through the end of March. Those excluded this year: Gottfried and Notre Dame’s Mike Brey (March 22).

This will be the 13th time during Mike Krzyzewski’s 36 years that Duke plays on Feb. 13, his birthday. The Blue Devils are a cumulative 8-4 on that date, winning the last four in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013. This is the first time during Krzyzewski’s tenure the Devils face UVa on the day after Lincoln’s birthday. Their most frequent opponents were Wake (1-4) and Maryland (3-0).