Sources: ACC closing in on new schedule format

The ACC is closing in on a change to its scheduling format that will require all league teams to play at least 10 games against Power Four competition, though the number of intra-conference games played -- eight or nine -- remains a sticking point, according to multiple sources.

Athletics directors are scheduled to meet Monday in Charlotte to discuss the details of what will either be a move to a nine-game conference slate with one additional Power Four game required out of conference or an "8+2" model that would provide more flexibility to schools who already have an annual non-conference rival.

"The ACC committing to go to 10 Power Four games is a big step forward," Clemson athletics director Graham Neff said. "It's indicative of where college football is and leans into emphasizing the importance of strength of schedule and more Power Four matchups."

Neff is among the handful of ADs concerned that a nine-game conference slate would be problematic in limiting schools' ability to play marquee non-conference games, as Clemson did this season against LSU in Week 1.

The Tigers play South Carolina annually and, beginning in 2027, will also have a yearly game against Notre Dame.

A straw poll of 13 of the ACC's 17 athletics directors showed nine supported or were amenable to the nine-game slate, while Clemson and Florida State are among the others with concerns about the impact on non-conference scheduling.

The SEC announced last month it would move from an eight-game to a nine-game conference slate -- a decision that has spurred the ACC's interest in adjusting its scheduling model, too.

Multiple sources said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips wants to see the conference play nine league games annually plus require each school to schedule one out-of-conference game against another Power Four school, essentially matching the SEC's new strategy. ACC schools are already supposed to have at least one Power Four non-conference game each year, but that rule has not been enforced and several programs have avoided playing a more difficult schedule. Sources told ESPN that the current conversations have reached a consensus that 10 Power Four games must be an enforced minimum moving forward.

One administrator said it felt inevitable the league was going to go to nine league games. Duke coach Manny Diaz agreed.

"I think it'd be awfully strange to be the only conference not at nine conference games," Diaz said. "Usually when you're the only one doing something, it's either really good or really bad. It just feels like you'd want continuity in what everybody does in college sports."

The SEC's move coincided with the College Football Playoff committee's revised guidelines that emphasize strength of opponent. SEC schools are also expected to see an increase in revenue from its TV partner, ESPN, for adding the additional conference game.

ACC ADs were briefed on the various plans during a call Wednesday, though several said there remains little understanding of how potential changes would be accepted by ESPN or considered among the College Football Playoff committee. Indeed, as Radakovich noted, the ideal formula for a 12-team playoff vs. an expanded playoff might not be the same, but the ACC will need to decide its scheduling fate before knowing what the future playoff might look like.

"Hopefully Jim [Phillips] will give us some insight into that when we get together Monday, and help set the table that, hey, nine is going to be really important for us to keep a very good seat at the table as it relates to the other CFP commissioners and the Power 4 conferences," Miami athletics director Dan Radakovich said. "It all depends on how big the CFP gets. That's another driving factor we won't know. We're going to have to make this decision without that knowledge and try to project it the best way we can."

No additional revenues are expected to come from ESPN if a change is made. The ACC also changed its revenue-distribution model starting in 2025, awarding a higher percentage of revenue to schools based on TV ratings.

"It's important we continue to be strategic in providing value to our media partner, ESPN," Neff said. "And with how the ACC has adapted our financial distribution model, that has direct school revenue implications unlike any other conference."

The ACC has wrestled with how many league games it should play for more than a decade. In 2012, the ACC agreed to play nine league games, but decided to stay at eight after adding Syracuse and Pittsburgh and coming to a scheduling agreement with Notre Dame the following year. The intra-state nonconference rivalry games that Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Louisville play annually against their SEC rivals have always been a sticking point in any of these discussions.

For those four specific teams, their rivalry games coupled with a nine-game conference slate would provide a full inventory of 10 Power Four matchups -- with more in years in which those schools play Notre Dame as part of the league's agreement that requires five games per year against the Irish. That leaves little room for marquee matchups like Clemson-LSU or Florida State-Alabama, two games that did monster ratings in Week 1 of this season, each drawing more than 10 million viewers.

But future marquee non-conference matchups like those could disappear once the ACC moves to a nine-game conference slate, Neff said, which could diminish the overall product and inhibit revenue opportunities, given the ACC's new distribution model that provides more money to schools with better TV ratings.

Radakovich noted that games like this week's showdown with Florida are unlikely to be played moving forward due to the constraints of a larger conference schedule, but he will continue to have conversations with Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin.

"It's going to be a real tough sell because Florida has their nine SEC games and their rivalry game with FSU," Radakovich said. "Scott and I will have some chats to see if it can happen but it's going to be some tough sledding."

Louisville athletics director Josh Heird said his school would still schedule top non-conference competition, even if that means an 11th Power Four game. The Cardinals currently have future games scheduled against Georgia in 2026 and 2027 and Texas A&M in 2028 and 2029.

"Play good teams," Heird said. "We'll play Kentucky every year, and we'll have Notre Dame every once in a while. And we absolutely want to still play the home-and-homes with Georgia and Texas A&M. I think the kids want to play those games, too."

Several ADs expressed concern, however, that series like Louisville's with Georgia and Texas A&M would disappear regardless, as the SEC bows out of such matchups now that its teams will play nine league games. Others suggested the SEC and Big Ten -- the two leagues with the most financial clout -- could work together for non-conference scheduling, leaving the ACC and Big 12 with few options to fill out their schedules, particularly if the ACC has two Power Four non-conference games required.

"You're not guaranteed 10," one AD in favor of a 9+1 model said. "That's the issue. Who's to say the other Power four leagues want to schedule ACC schools?"

One alternative could be for ACC teams to schedule non-conference games against each other, as NC State and Virginia did in Week 2. Several ADs expressed skepticism about that plan, however, suggesting it would be extremely confusing for fans to understand which ACC vs. ACC matchups counted in the league standing and which did not.

Regardless, the ACC will have to figure out a way around a more basic problem of math. With 17 football-playing members, there's no way for all schools to play nine conference games.

One initial plan involved games vs. Notre Dame -- an ACC member in all sports except football -- to count as conference games. Multiple ADs told ESPN that plan has been shelved for the time being, likely in favor of an imbalanced model in which at least one team will play just eight conference games while the rest play nine.

Monday's meetings in Charlotte are expected to move the league closer to a final decision, but several sources said they did not expect an official vote to happen for a few weeks and were similarly dubious a change would take effect for the 2026 season.

"Let's look to try to set our course," Radakovich said. "The discussions will happen Monday but decisions will hopefully happen shortly thereafter. Hopefully we'll come out of that with a consensus that leads the ACC to a final conclusion."