ACC/Big Ten Challenge in its final year, will give way to ACC/SEC event after 2022
The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is coming to an end, to be replaced by an ACC/SEC Challenge.
Andy Katz, a reporter for various outlets including NCAA.com, Turner Sports and the Big Ten Network, first reported the news Monday on Twitter.
ESPN announced the formation of the new ACC/SEC series in a release Monday morning.
“The future ACC/SEC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Challenges will be outstanding events for our student-athletes, member institutions and fans,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said in the release. “The SEC, led by Greg Sankey, and our partners at ESPN have been terrific, and there’s great excitement for the first annual ACC/SEC Challenge next season. As part of this announcement, we’d like to acknowledge the Big Ten for its partnership on the ACC/B1G Challenge that spanned more than 20 years.”
The new ACC/SEC Challenge, like the ACC/Big Ten event, will be for men’s and women’s basketball. The Big 12 Conference/SEC Challenge also is ending.
The news comes as the 2022 ACC/Big Ten Challenge is set to begin Monday with Minnesota playing at Virginia Tech and Pitt at Northwestern in men’s games.
Six games are scheduled Tuesday, including Wake Forest at Wisconsin, The event concludes with another six games Wednesday as Duke hosts Ohio State and North Carolina goes to Indiana.
N.C. State’s men’s program did not qualify for the 2022 Challenge, The Wolfpack, which topped Nebraska 104-100 in four overtimes in the 2021 Challenge, finished last in the ACC standings in 2021-22.
The Wolfpack women face Iowa on Thursday in the 2022 Challenge. The UNC women play at Indiana on Thursday while Duke hosts Northwestern.
The Big Ten won eight of 14 men’s games last season, including six of the first eight, and also won the Challenge in 2019 and 2020.
The ACC has an overall 12-8-3 in the made-for-TV event, which began in 1999, and has a 144-121 record in the men’s games. Duke (19-4) has the best Challenge record.
