ACC announces elimination of divisions, new scheduling format

So long, ACC Coastal and Atlantic divisions.

The ACC is eliminating its divisional format starting with the 2023 season, the conference announced Tuesday. Instead, the league will move to a 3-5-5 format, meaning teams will face three “primary opponents” every year and the other 10 teams twice in a four-year cycle. The top two teams at the end of the regular season — based on conference win percentage — will compete in the ACC Championship game on the first Saturday of December.

In 2023, the ACC will adopt a 3-5-5 football scheduling model and all 14 schools will compete in one division.

Teams will play 3 primary opponents annually + face the other 10 teams twice during the 4-year cycle, once at home and once on the road.

📰: https://t.co/7cvsuH48j3 pic.twitter.com/ne5TjwtfYd

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) June 28, 2022

“The future ACC football scheduling model provides significant enhancements for our schools and conference, with the most important being our student-athletes having the opportunity to play every school both home and away over a four-year period,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement. “We appreciate the thoughtful discussions within our membership, including the head football coaches and athletic directors. In the end, it was clear this model is in the best interest of our student-athletes, programs and fans, at this time.”

The move came after the NCAA relaxed its requirements for conference championship games. Some other leagues, including the Pac-12 and Mountain West, also moved to eliminate devisions as a result. But others such as the Big Ten and the SEC haven’t announced decisions as they work out media rights deals and, in the SEC’s case, deal with realignment down the road.

In fact, rumors have swirled that the SEC could go with a similar model to the ACC with primary and rotating opponents. The idea came up during the SEC spring meetings in Destin, but the league didn’t make a decision at the time.

“SEC has already thought through the toughest part of playing in one division — competitive balance,” CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd tweeted last month. “One model would have all 16 teams playing each other twice within a 4-year period. (3 fixed opponents, six rotating).”