2025-26 Schedule: ACC to 18 Games, Not 20?

[Dukie]

Just a rumor for now, but hereΓÇÖs a Yahoo article about it:

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/acc-ex ... 13473.html

[MV pony]

Done deal. Approved in a league call this morning per CBS.

[Charleston Pony]

I'm assuming our two home/home games will be with Stanford & Cal. Enfield must have west coast contacts from his time at USC so this should help expand our recruiting territory?

https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... own-years/

[PonyRef]

With 18, we only have 1 Home and Home. This year we had 3 with Cal, Stanford, and Virginia. My guess os that they alternate year to year with Cal and Stanford.

[Charleston Pony]

With 18, we only have 1 Home and Home. This year we had 3 with Cal, Stanford, and Virginia. My guess os that they alternate year to year with Cal and Stanford.

Article I posted above says 2 home/home teams and one "zero play" so we won't play everyone next year.

[Dukie]

With 18, we only have 1 Home and Home. This year we had 3 with Cal, Stanford, and Virginia. My guess os that they alternate year to year with Cal and Stanford.

Article I posted above says 2 home/home teams and one "zero play" so we won't play everyone next year.

Again per Duke board, 1 opponent for the home-and-home is fixed (SMUΓÇÖs is Louisville); the other is determined each year but that doesnΓÇÖt mean it rotates: uNCΓÇÖs fixed opponent is Duke but thereΓÇÖs a lot of speculation uNC will also get State every year.

[Charleston Pony]

Again per Duke board, 1 opponent for the home-and-home is fixed (SMUΓÇÖs is Louisville); the other is determined each year but that doesnΓÇÖt mean it rotates: uNCΓÇÖs fixed opponent is Duke but thereΓÇÖs a lot of speculation uNC will also get State every year.

That makes sense so every team can get their "primary" rival home/home every year but I would have thought UNC would play both Duke and NCSU every year and Duke maybe getting UNC and Wake. I assumed SMU would have gotten the west coast teams just to help reduce the eastern schools travel. Far too early for SMU to have an ACC rival but I would have preferred Clemson to Louisville as our "primary" just to piggyback this past season's games in both football and bball. From the article I posted:

From the league's release: "The 18-game schedule features teams starting league play in late December and ending on the first Saturday of March. Each team will play one primary partner both home and away as well as one variable partner home and away. The variable partner will be determined each season."

[Dukie]

Again per Duke board, 1 opponent for the home-and-home is fixed (SMUΓÇÖs is Louisville); the other is determined each year but that doesnΓÇÖt mean it rotates: uNCΓÇÖs fixed opponent is Duke but thereΓÇÖs a lot of speculation uNC will also get State every year.

That makes sense so every team can get their "primary" rival home/home every year but I would have thought UNC would play both Duke and NCSU every year and Duke maybe getting UNC and Wake. I assumed SMU would have gotten the west coast teams just to help reduce the eastern schools travel. Far too early for SMU to have an ACC rival but I would have preferred Clemson to Louisville as our "primary" just to piggyback this past season's games in both football and bball. From the article I posted:

From the league's release: "The 18-game schedule features teams starting league play in late December and ending on the first Saturday of March. Each team will play one primary partner both home and away as well as one variable partner home and away. The variable partner will be determined each season."

Louisville is a win, of courseΓÇörelatively nearby and on a great trajectory. Because these are twosomes and not threesomes it was a given Cal and Stanford would be paired. SMU may still get one of them regularly because travel. uNC getting State is about the historic rivalry, the proximity, the fanbase annimosity, and the state legislature a little bit. There is no way in hell Duke will get Wake, though. Duke will get a made-for-TV opponent each year.

[tristatecoog]

Who would be DukeΓÇÖs best TV opponent at this point? LVille or Clemson? Miami with Lucas as HC?

[Dukie]

Who would be DukeΓÇÖs best TV opponent at this point? LVille or Clemson? Miami with Lucas as HC?

It will be a new decision each fall, as I understand it, for all teams. If I were making this fall's lineup right now, based on what we know today, I think you've named the most-likely schools. Miami is a long-shot though because the Jai storyline is great but it is hard to predict that they will be that much better in his first year than in Larranaga's last one.

[PonyRef]

Yeah, saw the article after I posted. Like being paired with Louisville yearly with 2 Cal teams together. Makes sense given the format. Not sure if I follow or like the the rotating 2nd home and away team. I think I would rather them play everybody once with the single Home and away. Leaving someone out yearly makes it feel less balanced.

[Dukie]

Yeah, saw the article after I posted. Like being paired with Louisville yearly with 2 Cal teams together. Makes sense given the format. Not sure if I follow or like the the rotating 2nd home and away team. I think I would rather them play everybody once with the single Home and away. Leaving someone out yearly makes it feel less balanced.

Just speculation, but one guess is that skipping a team means Cal & Stanford can make 3 cross-continental trips instead of 4.