ACC makes changes to football scheduling model

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced some changes to its football scheduling model Tuesday. It allows each team to play every other team in the conference. This will ensure at least one contest per team every four years. The new model with the first four-year cycle in the 15-member conference will take effect in the 2023 season.

The schedules are based on a 3-5-5 structure, with each team playing a set of primary opponents every year. Meanwhile, they will play the remaining ten teams in the conference twice every four years, one away and one at home.

The change will eliminate the Atlantic and Coastal divisions of the conference. Therefore, it creates one large football division.

The season finale with the ACC championship game will also be determined by the top two teams on the basis of winning percentage.

ACC primary opponent selections

Effective in 2023, the following represents the primary opponents for all 15 member schools in the ACC:

• Boston College: Miami, Pittsburgh, Syracuse
• Clemson: Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State
• Duke: North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest
• Florida State: Clemson, Miami, Syracuse
• Georgia Tech: Clemson, Louisville, Wake Forest
• Louisville: Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia
• Miami: Boston College, Florida State, Louisville
• North Carolina: Duke, North Carolina State, Virginia
• North Carolina State: Clemson, Duke, North Carolina
• Pitt: Boston College, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
• Syracuse: Boston College, Florida State, Pittsburgh
• Virginia: Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
• Virginia Tech: Pittsburgh, Virginia, Wake Forest
• Wake Forest: Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech

The only team that does not have primary opponents is Notre Dame. While Notre Dame is an ACC member for football, they are a conference-independent school. The other exception is membership in the Big Ten Conference for ice hockey.

Despite that stipulation, the ACC has a special scheduling arrangement with Notre Dame to play a rotating schedule of five ACC teams per season. They are not eligible to play for the ACC Championship.

More specifics on the 2023-26 scheduling model is available on the ACC website.

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