GREENSBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — The Atlantic Coast Conference is getting rid of its football divisions starting in 2023.
League officials on Tuesday announced a new scheduling format for the 2023-26 seasons that scraps the Atlantic and Coastal divisions.
Every team will have three primary opponents it will play every year, and will play the other 10 league teams twice — once at home, once on the road — during the four-year span.
North Carolina’s three primary opponents will be Duke, North Carolina State and Virginia. N.C. State draws Clemson every year in addition to the Blue Devils and Tar Heels. And Duke’s three opponents will be the other three ACC programs in the state.
The change also means the state’s “Big Four” will play each other more often.
Duke and N.C. State — which will now play every year — were in opposite divisions and met just once since 2013 and twice since 2009.
The change makes this season the last when the two division winners will meet in the league title game in Charlotte.
Beginning next year, the championship game will match the top two teams based on winning percentage in ACC games.
Here is a look at what the conference schedule will look like for all three Triangle teams in 2023.
DUKE
Home: Clemson, N.C. State, Pitt, Wake Forest. Away: Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia.
NORTH CAROLINA
Home: Duke, Miami, Syracuse, Virginia. Away: Clemson, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Pitt.
N.C. STATE
Home: Clemson, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina. Away: Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest.