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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Manhattan

    Greatest Graduating Class Runs in Duke History

    I was catching up with a fellow Class of 2015 alumnus the other day, and while commiserating about our postponed 5-year reunion we reflected on how lucky, athletics-wise, we were to be at Duke when we were. We saw:

    1. Our fifth national championship in men's basketball. (2015)
    2. Coach K's 1000th victory as head coach. (2015)
    3. The most wins in a single season for our football team. (2013)
    4. The first ACC Coastal Division championship for our football team. (2013)
    5. Our first bowl berth in football in almost two decades. (2012)
    5A. Beating Carolina at home for the first time in forever after a last-minute game-winning drive by Renfree and Crowder!
    6. Back-to-back national championships in men's lacrosse. (2013, 2014)
    7. Women's golf winning the national championship. (2014)
    8. Women's soccer goes to the Final Four. (2011)

    What are some other great four-year runs in Duke history? Early 90s has to be up there.

  2. #2
    Not a Duke fan or alum, but I'd imagine 87-88 thru 90-91 was a pretty good time. Football had a couple of very solid years under Spurrier including an ACC title (clinched with an absolute DRUBBING of UNC on the road), and of course the men's BB team went to... let's see, yup - FOUR straight final fours and won a national championship. To me, that's the beginning of the stretch that turned Duke from a "very good"/top 10 type of program into an absolute wrecking ball/blueblood/UBER-elite program (especially when you throw in another championship and title game appearance in the 3 years following).

    Not sure what the non-rev sports were doing then, but let's be honest - MORE people care MORE deeply about the revenue sports than others overall, and to have a run like Duke did, esp in men's bball from 85-86 to 93-94... just crazy stuff. I can't imagine what it would be like to have been a student then, and given increased parity in CBB these days with players leaving early, you'll almost certainly never see a run like that again. From ANYONE.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Wahoo2000 View Post
    Not a Duke fan or alum, but I'd imagine 87-88 thru 90-91 was a pretty good time. Football had a couple of very solid years under Spurrier including an ACC title (clinched with an absolute DRUBBING of UNC on the road), and of course the men's BB team went to... let's see, yup - FOUR straight final fours and won a national championship. To me, that's the beginning of the stretch that turned Duke from a "very good"/top 10 type of program into an absolute wrecking ball/blueblood/UBER-elite program (especially when you throw in another championship and title game appearance in the 3 years following).

    Not sure what the non-rev sports were doing then, but let's be honest - MORE people care MORE deeply about the revenue sports than others overall, and to have a run like Duke did, esp in men's bball from 85-86 to 93-94... just crazy stuff. I can't imagine what it would be like to have been a student then, and given increased parity in CBB these days with players leaving early, you'll almost certainly never see a run like that again. From ANYONE.
    Those were my years, and they did not suck. I'll never know what it's like to be in college and not have your team make the Final Four. Class of 92, though, has 2 National Titles to go with their 4 FFs. Soccer was also very good during these years. Football had the fun run under Spurrier and then went sharply downhill.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    I'll grab the mic before some else does for the early '60's . From 1960-1964, we had

    • Three ACC football championships (1960-1962)
    • Cotton Bowl win against Arkansas (end of 1960 season)
    • College World Series in baseball (1961) -- last one
    • Two ACC basketball championships (1962-1963), plus the 1960 upset, which was a few months earlier
    • Two Final Fours in basketball
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by sagegrouse View Post
    I'll grab the mic before some else does for the early '60's . From 1960-1964, we had

    • Three ACC football championships (1960-1962)
    • Cotton Bowl win against Arkansas (end of 1960 season)
    • College World Series in baseball (1961) -- last one
    • Two ACC basketball championships (1962-1963), plus the 1960 upset, which was a few months earlier
    • Two Final Fours in basketball
    Don Altman!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    Quote Originally Posted by Duke79UNLV77 View Post
    Class of 92, though, has 2 National Titles to go with their 4 FFs.
    I think the Class of 1992 (started fall 1988, graduated spring 1992) holds the edge over the surrounding graduating classes.

    MBB: Championships 1991, 1992; Title Game 1990; Final Four Semifinal 1989
    MBB: Three retired jerseys (Ferry 1989, Heyman 1990, Laettner 1992)
    FB: All-American Bowl 1989

    The Class of 2016 has four bowl games, the only Duke graduating class that can say that.

    FB: Belk Bowl 2012, Chick-fil-A Bowl 2013, Sun Bowl 2014, Pinstripe Bowl 2015

    The Class of 2019 stands alone in claiming three bowl wins and three NCAA baseball berths.

    FB: Pinstripe Bowl 2015, Quick Lane Bowl 2017, Independence Bowl 2018
    BASE: NCAA Tournament 2016, 2018, 2019

    Finally, out of personal interest, I'll just note that the Class of 1995 does not have the greatest run but can still boast a little, having witnessed more basketball jersey retirements than any other class.

    MBB: Championship 1992; Title Game 1994
    MBB: Four retired jerseys (Laettner 1992, Hurley 1993, G. Hill 1994, Mullins 1994)
    WBB: NCAA Tournament 1995 (first berth since 1987)
    FB: Hall of Fame Bowl 1994
    MLAX: NCAA Tournament 1992, 1994, 1995

    Note: If you include women's basketball, the Class of 2007 saw jersey retirements for Beard-Williams-Redick and a few classes saw Williams-Redick-Harding, but no class saw all four.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    North of Durham
    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    I think the Class of 1992 (started fall 1988, graduated spring 1992) holds the edge over the surrounding graduating classes.

    MBB: Championships 1991, 1992; Title Game 1990; Final Four Semifinal 1989
    MBB: Three retired jerseys (Ferry 1989, Heyman 1990, Laettner 1992)
    FB: All-American Bowl 1989

    The Class of 2016 has four bowl games, the only Duke graduating class that can say that.

    FB: Belk Bowl 2012, Chick-fil-A Bowl 2013, Sun Bowl 2014, Pinstripe Bowl 2015

    The Class of 2019 stands alone in claiming three bowl wins and three NCAA baseball berths.

    FB: Pinstripe Bowl 2015, Quick Lane Bowl 2017, Independence Bowl 2018
    BASE: NCAA Tournament 2016, 2018, 2019

    Finally, out of personal interest, I'll just note that the Class of 1995 does not have the greatest run but can still boast a little, having witnessed more basketball jersey retirements than any other class.

    MBB: Championship 1992; Title Game 1994
    MBB: Four retired jerseys (Laettner 1992, Hurley 1993, G. Hill 1994, Mullins 1994)
    WBB: NCAA Tournament 1995 (first berth since 1987)
    FB: Hall of Fame Bowl 1994
    MLAX: NCAA Tournament 1992, 1994, 1995

    Note: If you include women's basketball, the Class of 2007 saw jersey retirements for Beard-Williams-Redick and a few classes saw Williams-Redick-Harding, but no class saw all four.
    I still wouldn't vote for 1995 (I was a few years behind you), but didn't you also get the women's soccer team getting to the NCAA finals in fall of 1992? And we won't discuss what happened in that game...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    Quote Originally Posted by CrazyNotCrazie View Post
    I still wouldn't vote for 1995 (I was a few years behind you), but didn't you also get the women's soccer team getting to the NCAA finals in fall of 1992? And we won't discuss what happened in that game...
    We did. Apologies for missing it. I even looked at the men's soccer NCAA final of 1995, just to make sure it was outside my graduating class window.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Honolulu

    It ain't 2006

    I can say from personal experience that it isn't the Class of 2006. For the positives we have: JJ's (and Shelden's) career; Alana Beard's last two years; Dockery beating VT; Matt Doherty (and Andre Buckner); Patrick Davidson starting against Wake; CP3 punching Julius Hodge in the nuts; and Shav murdering me at ping pong (with his arms fully extended at his side, the paddle was still like 6 inches above the table). Oh, and FB won its first game in two years in 2002 and its first ACC game in three years in 2003! Uprights fell those days, let me tell you.

    Otherwise: halfish of Carl Franks happened and then Ted Roof happened; we missed a title by one year; the 2004 FF happened; the 2005 NCAA Tournament happened; the 2006 WBB final happened; Field Hockey lost in the championship in 2003, 2004, and 2005 (to Wake and MD, no less); WLAX lost in the FF in 2005 and 2006; and MLAX lost in the final in 2005 and then Crystal Mangum happened.

    If we're ranking the worst graduating class runs, I think 2006 has to be pretty close to the top of the list.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    The People's Republic of Travis County
    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    I think the Class of 1992 (started fall 1988, graduated spring 1992) holds the edge over the surrounding graduating classes.

    MBB: Championships 1991, 1992; Title Game 1990; Final Four Semifinal 1989
    MBB: Three retired jerseys (Ferry 1989, Heyman 1990, Laettner 1992)
    FB: All-American Bowl 1989

    The Class of 2016 has four bowl games, the only Duke graduating class that can say that.

    FB: Belk Bowl 2012, Chick-fil-A Bowl 2013, Sun Bowl 2014, Pinstripe Bowl 2015

    The Class of 2019 stands alone in claiming three bowl wins and three NCAA baseball berths.

    FB: Pinstripe Bowl 2015, Quick Lane Bowl 2017, Independence Bowl 2018
    BASE: NCAA Tournament 2016, 2018, 2019

    Finally, out of personal interest, I'll just note that the Class of 1995 does not have the greatest run but can still boast a little, having witnessed more basketball jersey retirements than any other class.

    MBB: Championship 1992; Title Game 1994
    MBB: Four retired jerseys (Laettner 1992, Hurley 1993, G. Hill 1994, Mullins 1994)
    WBB: NCAA Tournament 1995 (first berth since 1987)
    FB: Hall of Fame Bowl 1994
    MLAX: NCAA Tournament 1992, 1994, 1995

    Note: If you include women's basketball, the Class of 2007 saw jersey retirements for Beard-Williams-Redick and a few classes saw Williams-Redick-Harding, but no class saw all four.

    The football team didn't just make the All-American Bowl in 1989; they claimed a share of the last ACC title that Duke has won, and that was the first one since the 1960s. Counts for both the Classes of 1991 and 1992, although I agree 1988-92 was the best overall time period.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by AustinDevil View Post
    The football team didn't just make the All-American Bowl in 1989; they claimed a share of the last ACC title that Duke has won, and that was the first one since the 1960s. Counts for both the Classes of 1991 and 1992, although I agree 1988-92 was the best overall time period.
    It was also the last ACC football title won by any North Carolina school.
    "This is the best of all possible worlds."
    Dr. Pangloss - Candide

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by JetpackJesus View Post
    I can say from personal experience that it isn't the Class of 2006. For the positives we have: JJ's (and Shelden's) career; Alana Beard's last two years; Dockery beating VT; Matt Doherty (and Andre Buckner); Patrick Davidson starting against Wake; CP3 punching Julius Hodge in the nuts; and Shav murdering me at ping pong (with his arms fully extended at his side, the paddle was still like 6 inches above the table). Oh, and FB won its first game in two years in 2002 and its first ACC game in three years in 2003! Uprights fell those days, let me tell you.

    Otherwise: halfish of Carl Franks happened and then Ted Roof happened; we missed a title by one year; the 2004 FF happened; the 2005 NCAA Tournament happened; the 2006 WBB final happened; Field Hockey lost in the championship in 2003, 2004, and 2005 (to Wake and MD, no less); WLAX lost in the FF in 2005 and 2006; and MLAX lost in the final in 2005 and then Crystal Mangum happened.

    If we're ranking the worst graduating class runs, I think 2006 has to be pretty close to the top of the list.
    Oh no, try the Dark Ages (1973). Four years of Bucky and beginning of the end of football (de-emphasis discussions. 0.5 baseball scholarship awarded to entire team if I recall.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Watching carolina Go To HELL!
    Quote Originally Posted by arnie View Post
    Oh no, try the Dark Ages (1973). Four years of Bucky and beginning of the end of football (de-emphasis discussions. 0.5 baseball scholarship awarded to entire team if I recall.
    Basketball-wise, try my (and dd's) graduating class of 1976. Bucky's last year, Neill McGeachy's only year, and Bill Foster's first two years. And, oh yeah, that game I mentioned in the Most Painful loss ever thread. The light at the end of the tunnel is that '75-'76 was Jim Spanarkel's freshman year.
    Ozzie, your paradigm of optimism!

    Go To Hell carolina, Go To Hell!
    9F 9F 9F
    https://ecogreen.greentechaffiliate.com

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    I mean, why is this thread going on and why hasn't everyone conceded -- three ACC football championships, two Final Fours and one College World Series?

    Kindly,
    Sage Grouse
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    The People's Republic of Travis County
    Quote Originally Posted by sagegrouse View Post
    I mean, why is this thread going on and why hasn't everyone conceded -- three ACC football championships, two Final Fours and one College World Series?

    Kindly,
    Sage Grouse
    Because zero national titles. Not that it was not a great run in the early '60s.

  16. #16
    Class of 2002 experienced:
    MBB: 4 ACC Championships, 2 Final Fours, 1 National Championship
    WBB: 3 ACC Championships, 2 Final Fours
    W Golf: 2 National Championships, Candy Hannemann and Virada Nirapathpongporn consecutive individual NCAA Champions
    M Soccer (Ali Curtis with a Hermann Award, Robbie Russell solid pro career), M Lax, and M/W Tennis consistently at or near tops of rankings
    M Golf consistently good (Matt Krauss ACC title, Kevin Streelman still on PGA Tour, Leif Olson was on PGA Tour briefly)
    W XC/T&F: Sheela Agrawal won a bunch of races
    Football: Reggie Love won an ACC & National Championship, D Bryant won an ACC Championship & reached a Final Four
    Baseball: Chris Capuano and Greg Burke made the show

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    North Carolina

    Thread Not Approved by the Classes of 2009 and 2014

    Basketball won championships the year before (2010) and after (2015) we arrived on campus. No final fours either. Should have seen a jersey retirement for Singler, but that is for another thread...

    Really can't complain too much though as we had a pretty fun time:
    -Three home basketball wins against UNC
    -An ACC Championship in 2011 (which, come on, isn't the ACC Championship really the National Championship anyways?)
    -Two bowl games and an ACC Coastal Championship (2013)
    -Couple of lacrosse national championships (2013, 2014)

    At least we're not 2009, right????

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