The Atlantic Coast Conference reworked its football schedule Wednesday to allow each team to play 11 games and to incorporate Notre Dame, which is giving up its storied independence in a year rocked by the coronavirus pandemic.
The ACC’s university presidents approved plans for an 11-game schedule, including one nonconference game, and for pushing back both the first week (to Sept. 7) and the league championship game (from Dec. 5 to either Dec. 12 or 19).
The ACC will eliminate its traditional divisional format this season and the two teams with the best winning percentages in conference play will meet in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the league championship game. The league will release specific dates and broadcast plans later.
Notre Dame, which competes in the ACC in all sports except football and hockey, will play in a football conference for the first time in the 133-year history of the proudly independent program in South Bend, Indiana – if the season is played. The pandemic is threatening to wipe out the fall season, but the biggest conferences are taking steps to try to mitigate potential disruptions and somehow play football, a critical revenue source through its broadcast rights deals.
“We recognize that we may need to be nimble and make adjustments in the future,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a release. “We will be as prepared as possible should that need arise.”