ACC moves to adjusted football schedule with nine conference games
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- ACC athletic directors back move to nine-game conference football schedule.
- New model requires minimum 10 Power 4 matchups annually for each ACC team.
- Formal adoption pending approval from Faculty Athletics Representatives in 2025.
The ACC is one step closer to adopting a more competitive football scheduling format.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips announced Monday the athletic directors of ACC’s 17 football-playing institutions voted in “overwhelming support” for a regular season schedule that includes nine conference games and a minimum 10 games each year against Power 4 opponents.
“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,” Phillips said in a statement Monday. “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.”
On Aug. 21, the SEC announced its intent to implement a nine-conference game football schedule beginning in 2026, joining fellow Power Four leagues the Big 12 and Big Ten. With the SEC’s move, the ACC remained the only Power Four conference to play eight conference football games. This new ACC model — which is set to be presented to the Faculty Athletics Representatives for formal adoption, per the conference constitution — would change that.
N.C. State’s Dave Doeren and Duke’s Manny Diaz previously expressed support for the new model.
Doeren said in August he would support Phillips if the league opted to make the change. Diaz said in early August it would be “awfully strange to be the only conference not at nine conference games.”
“Usually, when you’re the only one doing something, it’s either really good or really bad,” Diaz added. “It just feels like you would want continuity in what everybody does in college sports.”
Doeren said “nine games is great,” but acknowledged potential issues with the change. For instance, many ACC teams have SEC rivals they play regularly: Florida State and Florida, Louisville and Kentucky, Clemson and South Carolina, Georgia Tech and Georgia.
However, a source told the N&O that, at least for 2026, the ACC will be lenient in its new model. The source said the majority of teams will play nine-game league schedules, but multiple teams will play eight-game league schedules in 2026 to aid in the transition.
This would help schools like UNC who already have nonconference commitments for the 2026 season.
The Tar Heels are set to open the 2026 season against TCU in Ireland and will also host Notre Dame. These two games, in addition to eight conference games, would count toward the requirement for ten Power 4 opponents. With that amendment, North Carolina could, theoretically, keep its games against ETSU (originally scheduled for 2022) and UConn (the first of a home-and-home series) on the schedule for 2026.
In 2027, with the nine-game league schedule fully implemented, there’s still a bit of a math problem. The same source told the N&O that 16 teams will play nine ACC opponents (nine + one P4 game) and one will play eight ACC opponents (eight + two P4 games) beginning in 2027 as a result.
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 5:48 PM.