The ACC Announces 11-Game Fall Football Scheduling Model
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its scheduling model for the fall college football season on Wednesday, as the league adapted an 11-game model featuring 10 conference games and one non-conference game for each institution.
The news came after weeks of deliberation regarding scheduling hurdles presented to the conference by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In an effort to play a college football season that limits the spread of the virus and protects all parties involved, the conference proposed its plan in detail to turn a virtual pipe dream into reality.
Here's the official announcement from the ACC on social media, along with a grind of each team's proposed schedule:
With each team playing 10 conference games this fall, there are inherent changes to the schedule and intricacies that come along with the conference's proposal for this college football season.
Let's start with the elephant in the room: Notre Dame.
The Irish will be a full member of the ACC in football for the 2020-21 season, playing in 10 conference games and one non-conference game, just like all other ACC members. In addition, Notre Dame will be eligible for the ACC Championship - a bridge that most fans weren't willing to cross if the Irish were included in conference play this season.
However, the move didn't come free to Notre Dame. In fact, the Irish's inclusion in the ACC for the season benefits all members of the conference. Notre Dame will be sharing the revenue of its NBC contract for all home games with the other 15 members of the conference.
As for the other notable changes, there will be no divisions. The Atlantic and Coastal Divisions will be dissolved this fall, and the ACC Championship will take place on either December 12th or December 19th pitting the two best teams in the conference on the basis of ACC winning percentage. This means that a loss to a non-conference opponent will not hamper a team's chances of making the ACC Championship game.
Finally, the league hopes to begin the season on September 7th, but this will be contingent on health guidelines and the safety of all involved. A full week-by-week schedule for each team in the ACC will be released in the near future.
A separate story is on the way regarding how this impacts Virginia Tech, but one notable change is that the Hokies will host perennial powerhouse and conference-favorite, Clemson, this season in Blacksburg.
Here's the full slate for Virginia Tech, broken out by home and away games. Make sure to stay with SI All Hokies for more on this developing story.
Home Games
Boston College, Miami, Clemson, NC State, Virginia
Away Games
North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Duke, Wake Forest
TBD
Non-conference opponent
