ACC Adjusts Schedules For Coming Future With Addition Of Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh
By Ty Hodges
The ACC has announced today that the current ACC members are going to have to change some things up in order to accommodate Notre Dame (minus football), Syracuse, and Pittsburgh.
Let’s take a look at what they had to say:
"With the addition of Notre Dame playing five games annually against ACC teams, the league has determined it will play an eight-game conference schedule for 2013 and beyond. Divisions, primary crossover partners and rotating opponents from the opposite division will remain consistent to what was previously announced.–ACC Press Release"
What this means is that ACC members are going to play 8 in-conference games instead of 9 in-conference games. These changes will take place next year for football and basketball, while baseball will have to wait until 2014 until these scheduling changes take place. Those sports, of course, will have their own unique schedules.
What does this mean for Virginia Tech though? Well, it means the Hokies will have to drop one Atlantic opponent next year due to the dwindled ACC schedule. Currently the Hokies are slated to play Boston College, Florida State, and Maryland. Signs would seem to point at Florida State being dropped from the schedule. Boston College will likely remain Virginia Tech’s annual Atlantic opponent, with the other game rotating around.
What this also means for 2013 is that the Hokies now need to find a new FBS out-of-conference opponent because the Hokies are already playing one FCS opponent. The added slot for an out-of-conference opponent is now a problem because Pittsburgh moves from an out-of-conference game to a potential conference game.
The ACC also talked about the changes made to the basketball scheduling as well:
"The ACC will continue to play an 18-game conference schedule with the addition of Notre Dame. The scheduling model will be based on a two-partner format.Each year, teams will play every league opponent at least once with the two partners playing home and away annually. In addition to the four annual games against partners, the remaining 14 conference games will feature home and away games with two rotating opponents and five home-only games and five road-only games.The two-primary-partner format preserves competitive balance and builds upon traditional rivalries while providing the opportunity to create new ones.Boston College – Notre Dame and SyracuseClemson – Florida State and Georgia TechDuke – North Carolina and Wake ForestFlorida State – Clemson and MiamiGeorgia Tech – Clemson and Notre DameMaryland – Pitt and VirginiaMiami – Florida State and Virginia TechNorth Carolina – Duke and NC StateNC State – North Carolina and Wake ForestNotre Dame – Boston College and Georgia TechPitt – Maryland and SyracuseSyracuse – Boston College and PittVirginia – Maryland and Virginia TechVirginia Tech – Miami and VirginiaWake Forest – Duke and NC State–ACC Press ReleaseI really like what the ACC did here. Simply put, each ACC team will play one game against every other ACC team, with two games being played against two permanent opponents annually. As you can see, Virginia Tech will play two games against Virginia and Miami annually. I’m perfectly fine with these changes, and they actually make a lot of sense. You’ve got to feel for Notre Dame and Syracuse for drawing Boston College, though. Published on 10/03/2012 at 2:21 PM EDTLast updated on 10/03/2012 at 2:21 PM EDT The ACC will continue to play an 18-game conference schedule with the addition of Notre Dame. The scheduling model will be based on a two-partner format.Each year, teams will play every league opponent at least once with the two partners playing home and away annually. In addition to the four annual games against partners, the remaining 14 conference games will feature home and away games with two rotating opponents and five home-only games and five road-only games.The two-primary-partner format preserves competitive balance and builds upon traditional rivalries while providing the opportunity to create new ones.Boston College – Notre Dame and SyracuseClemson – Florida State and Georgia TechDuke – North Carolina and Wake ForestFlorida State – Clemson and MiamiGeorgia Tech – Clemson and Notre DameMaryland – Pitt and VirginiaMiami – Florida State and Virginia TechNorth Carolina – Duke and NC StateNC State – North Carolina and Wake ForestNotre Dame – Boston College and Georgia TechPitt – Maryland and SyracuseSyracuse – Boston College and PittVirginia – Maryland and Virginia TechVirginia Tech – Miami and VirginiaWake Forest – Duke and NC State–ACC Press Release"