ACC to Revert to 18-Game Conference Basketball Schedule

The ACC is working diligently to combat a glaring problem. After an alarming low number of March Madness bids extended to ACC teams, the conference decided on Wednesday to revert to an 18-game conference schedule starting in 2025-26.

The decision comes after only four teams from the conference made March Madness--the lowest number of ACC teams since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

In 2019-20, the ACC schedule featured 20 conference matchups for each team. But due to the conference struggling to keep up with ones like the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 in recent years when it comes to receiving tournament bids, they opted to add a couple more non-conference games to potentially give teams more chances to win which in turn would help their tournament chances.

And when it comes to March Madness, the ACC is arguably the most successful conference. Over the last four seasons, ACC teams have combined for a 38-19 record, which is the best of any Power Four/Five conference. This includes having five teams from the conference reach the Final Four out of the 19 bids they have received over the last five seasons.

Reverting back to 18 games was not a quick decision. After the conference office talked with university athletic directors, coaches, TV partners and other resources, it was determined that changing the schedule was in the best interest of everyone involved.

As the sport continues to grow in the conference, especially with the massive conference realignment that occurred prior to the start of the academic year, the conference has taken measures to keep enhancing the sport.

Some of those enhancements include strengthening its marketing and branding such as TV programming and financially rewarding the programs that invest a lot into their teams and see success from it.

"As a league, we have been transparent about the importance of ACC men's basketball and specifically our commitment to ensuring it is best positioned for the future," ACC commissioner, Jim Phillips said.

"Moving to an 18-game conference schedule is a direct result of our ongoing strategic review and analysis and provides our schools a better balance of non-conference and conference games, while also allowing them more autonomy in the scheduling process.

"This decision reflects our on-going prioritization to do what’s best for ACC Men’s Basketball, and we appreciate the thoughtfulness of our membership and the support from our television partners."

Under the new 18-game format, conference play will begin in late December and end the first weekend of March. Each program will face one primary partner, also known as a core rivalry game, at home and away as well as one home and one away game against the remaining 14 teams. Examples of primary partners include Cal-Stanford and Boston College-Notre Dame.

Since 2015, the ACC has dominated college basketball. In addition to having three national champions in that time--Duke in 2015, North Carolina in 2017 and Virginia in 2019--there have been 10 teams make the Final Four and 116 wins from ACC teams in the tournament.