The Atlantic Coast Conference is set to follow suit with the other power conferences and introduce a new scheduling model, which will include nine conference games for each school.
This shift was announced by the league Monday afternoon after all 17 member-school athletic directors voted to approve this change during a meeting earlier in the day. Each season, all ACC teams will play nine conference opponents and will be obligated to play a 10th game against an opponent from another Power Four conference.
The new model will be formally adopted after it is presented to the ACC’s faculty athletics representatives. It wasn’t announced by the ACC if it will go into effect for the 2026 or 2027 season.
“We have been incredibly intentional throughout our discussions on ACC Football, including the future of our conference schedule. Today, the athletic directors of the 17 football-playing institutions overwhelmingly supported a regular season schedule that includes nine conference games and a minimum of 10 games each year against Power 4 opponents,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a press release. “This positions the ACC as one of only two leagues committed to having every team annually play a minimum of 10 games against Power 4 teams. There will be additional discussions and more details to be determined, but today’s decision showcases the commitment and leadership of our ADs in balancing what is best for strengthening the conference and their respective programs.”
The Southeastern Conference announced Aug. 21 that it will be moving to a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026. Each team will have three annual opponents while rotating between the other 12 teams in the league on a biannual basis.
The Big 12 was the first Power Four conference to introduce a nine-game conference schedule in 2011 and the Big Ten followed suit in 2016.
One unique problem the ACC will have to navigate is having an uneven number of full-time members with 17. This means every team won’t be able to play exactly nine conference games in a season.
Potential solutions could include allowing one team a year to play eight conference games and two games against Power Four opponents or counting one of the ACC’s annual games against Notre Dame in the conference standings.
–Field Level Media
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