ACC to do away with football divisions. Pairings for UNC, NC State, Duke in new model
The ACC revealed its new football scheduling model for the 2023-26 seasons on Tuesday, featuring three primary opponents a school faces every year and rotating five additional teams every two years.
The 3-5-5 approach will eliminate the conference’s split into Atlantic and Coastal divisions and thus end the long gaps that came from playing cross division foes.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement, “it was clear this model is in the best interest of our student-athletes, programs and fans, at this time.”
“The future ACC football scheduling model provides significant enhancements for our schools and conference,” Phillips said. “With the most important being our student-athletes having the opportunity to play every school both home and away over a four-year period.”
North Carolina’s three primary opponents are teams it already faced every year in Duke, N.C. State and Virginia. The Blue Devils and Cavaliers are both Coastal foes and N.C. State was its permanent Atlantic game. The UNC-UVA game is the oldest football rivalry in the South dating back to 1892.
N.C. State’s primary opponents include Duke and Clemson. The Wolfpack had played Wake Forest annually every season since 1910 in a series that dates back to 1895. But by adding the Tigers as a primary partner, that run will come to an end in 2025.
Duke’s primary partner includes Wake Forest, making it the only in-state school that will play its traditional Big Four rivals every year. That will allow the Blue Devils to renew their rivalry with the Pack. While in separate divisions, the teams only played each other twice (2013, 2020) since conference expansion.
The new model, which was approved by the league’s athletic directors and faculty athletic representatives on Tuesday, also guarantees each team will face all 13 ACC opponents both at home and on the road in a four-year cycle. Under the old model it would take 12 years for that to happen.
The NCAA Division I Council voted in May to eliminate division requirements in order for a conference to hold a title game. Starting in 2023, the top two teams in the ACC standings will meet in its conference championship game on the first Saturday in December in Charlotte.
ACC primary partners
Boston College: Miami, Pitt, Syracuse
Clemson: Florida State, Georgia Tech, NC State
Duke: North Carolina, NC 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, NC State, Virginia
NC State: Clemson, Duke, North Carolina
Pitt: Boston College, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
Syracuse: Boston College, Florida State, Pitt
Virginia: Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech: Pitt, Virginia, Wake Forest
Wake Forest: Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech
2023 season breakdown
Duke: Home – Clemson, NC State, Pitt, Wake Forest; Away – Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia
North Carolina: Home – Duke, Miami, Syracuse, Virginia; Away – Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, Pitt
NC State: Home – Clemson, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina; Away – Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
2024 season
Duke: Home – Boston College, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech; Away – Miami, NC State, Syracuse, Wake Forest
North Carolina: Home – Boston College, NC State, Pitt, Virginia Tech; Away – Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Virginia
NC State: Home – Duke, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Wake Forest; Away – Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Pitt
2025 season
Duke: Home – Florida State, Louisville, NC State, Wake Forest; Away – Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pitt
North Carolina: Home – Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia; Away – Miami, NC State, Syracuse, Wake Forest
NC State: Home – Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech; Away – Boston College, Duke, Louisville, Miami
2026 season
Duke: Home – Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Syracuse; Away – Boston College, NC State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
North Carolina: Home – Florida State, Louisville, NC State, Wake Forest; Away – Boston College, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech
NC State: Home – Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Pitt; Away – Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Syracuse