ACC finalizes which teams will play 8 league games from 2026-32

The ACC has finalized which teams will only play eight league games from 2027 and 2032, sources told On3.

The breakdown of teams playing eight ACC games: Clemson (2027, 2028), Georgia Tech (2029, 2031), Syracuse (2030) and Florida State (2032).

The ACC already announced for the 2026 season five schools – Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina – would play only eight league games as the league bridged to its nine-game league schedule. 

In September, the ACC announced it would add a ninth league contest starting in 2026. But with 17 league teams, it’s mathematically impossible for each team to play nine games. An ACC athletic director wasn’t concerned. “We have the highest-rated academic schools of any Power Four conference,” the AD told On3. “We’ll figure it out.”

And they did.

All 17 league members collaborated on determining which schools would play nine or eight league games and it was decided, in part, based on future non-conference contracted games, sources said.

The 11 ACC members that will play nine conference games each season from 2026-32: Cal, Duke, Louisville, Miami, NC State, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

With not all 17 members playing the same number of league games, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told On3 earlier this month the ACC would have new tiebreakers to determine the top two seeds for the ACC title game. The ACC hopes to have the new tiebreakers determined by the spring, sources said.

The ACC also decided not to include any non-conference games against Power 4 opponents, including Notre Dame, as a “league” contest. Only games against other ACC opponents will be used in the league standings.

Starting in 2026, the ACC also require each member to play at least 10 Power 4 conference opponents, regardless of whether the ACC member plays eight or nine conference games. Three ACC members – Boston College, Georgia Tech and Louisville – will each play 11 Power 4 opponents this season, the most of any conference. The Big 12’s Colorado and Big Ten’s Purdue are the only other schools with 11 Power 4 opponents in 2026. 

Overall in 2026, ACC teams will play 25 non-conference games against Power 4 opponents, the most of any conference. The ACC’s Power 4 non-conference schedule consists of nine games vs. the SEC, six vs. Notre Dame and five games each vs. the Big Ten and Big 12.