ACC football schedule: League approves 3-5-5 format with all teams in one division starting in 2023

The model ensures that every team will travel to each conference opponent's home stadium every four years

By Shehan Jeyarajah

Jun 28, 2022 at 11:29 am ET • 1 min read

USATSI

The ACC has officially announced a new scheduling model that will go into effect for the 2023 season. The league is eliminating divisions, and instead moving to a model with three permanent opponents and two separate five-team rotations that will flip every other year.

Instead of sending division winners, the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage will play in the ACC Championship Game each year. The league athletic directors and faculty athletic representatives officially voted in the model to take place from 2023-26.

"The future ACC football scheduling model provides significant enhancements for our schools and conference, with the most important being our student-athletes having the opportunity to play every school both home and away over a four-year period," ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. "We appreciate the thoughtful discussions within our membership, including the head football coaches and athletic directors. In the end, it was clear this model is in the best interest of our student-athletes, programs and fans, at this time."

The model ultimately means that every ACC team will play every other conference foe at their home field at least every four years. This is in stark contrast to the divisional setup, which guaranteed matchups with divisional opponents every year, but often saw years between road trips. For example, Clemson has only played Miami at its home field once since 2010.

The ACC also announced long-term opponents for each program that made sure to maintain key rivalries. Clemson and Florida State will continue to play every year, along with other in-state battles like North Carolina vs. Duke, Virginia Tech vs. Virginia and Florida State vs. Miami.

Here are the permanent opponents for each of the ACC's 14 schools: