After grabbing seven consecutive first-place conference finishes from 1992 to 1998, UNC's women's team finally reclaimed its position atop the ACC last year.
The team is hoping for an outcome this weekend in Charlottesville, Va., similar to 2001's down-to-the-wire conference victory in Orlando, Fla.
The men, however, don't want a repeat of recent past.
Because of an injury-prone distance squad and a lack of depth in the sprints and hurdles, the men's team has placed fourth in its last two outdoor championships.
And with the team depth of a sprinting power like reigning conference champion Clemson, a UNC men's win is extremely unlikely.
"Until we get that depth we're going to be a middle-of-the-road ACC team, which I absolutely hate," said UNC coach Dennis Craddock in an interview earlier this season.
But one bright spot for the men is that they're stronger outdoors than indoors because of the throwing events in the spring.
Senior Sal Gigante leads the conference in the hammer throw and is second in the discuss. Both are events not used during the indoor season.
Meanwhile senior Ian Douglas, a two-time ACC outdoor champion in the shot put, leads the conference with a mark of 59 feet, 2 1/4 inches.