Report: ACC has no plans for ninth league game, open to adding in future

Scheduling has become a key topic across the conferences, specifically with the debate between eight or nine games in league. That includes the ACC with their position on it being to, for now, remain at the total they’re at.

Per sources speaking with Brett McMurphy at Action Network, the Atlantic Coast Conference has “no plans” to add a ninth league game in instead staying at eight at this time. Still, with the Big Ten and Big 12 already at nine and the SEC thinking about moving from eight to nine, they could “be open to it in the future” if need be.

“ACC has no plans to add a 9th league game “right now, but would be open to it in future,” source said,” McMurphy posted on Thursday. “Big Ten & Big 12 each play 9 league games & SEC is considering adding a 9th league game.”

The ACC has been playing an eight-game conference schedule since 1992. That standard has been consistent over the past three-plus decades now with realignment changing their model to no divisions for the 17-team conference they now have following the additions of California, Stanford, and SMU.

This, though, comes a week after the ACC decided that they’d actually decrease their amount of conference games in basketball. They had played 20 but went down to 18 with one primary partner per team and some variable partners with the programs playing all but one team on every league slate.

Now, the Atlantic Coast Conference could make changes, except this time an addition, for similar reasoning. Playing a ninth conference game could better position some teams from the league, depending on the future formats they could use, to make the College Football Playoff. There’s also the chance for increased revenue there as, per reports, ESPN is willing to pay $50 to $80 million to the SEC if they were to add a ninth game. As for the other power leagues, they’ve already been doing nine games with the Big 12 having had one since 2011 and the Big Ten since 2016.

There are pros and cons to both sides of the argument as to what a conference should decide between eight or nine games. That’s where the ACC presently finds itself with the future likely to better determine whether they’ll stay with eight or add a ninth.