ACC Football Schedule Revealed for 2024-30 After Cal, Stanford, SMU Additions

The ACC announced its future football schedules for the 2024-30 seasons on Monday, as California, Stanford and SMU join the conference, bringing it to 17 schools.

The new model will not include divisions, will include eight league matchups per team and will still hold the ACC Football Championship Game between the two teams with the top conference winning percentage.

The league will also feature 17 protected matchups that will occur each season: Boston College vs. Syracuse, Boston College vs. Pitt, Syracuse vs. Pitt, North Carolina vs. Virginia, North Carolina vs. Duke, North Carolina vs. NC State, NC State vs. Wake Forest, NC State vs. Duke, Duke vs. Wake Forest, Virginia Tech vs. Virginia, Florida State vs. Clemson, Miami vs. Florida State, Miami vs. Virginia Tech, Stanford vs. Cal, Stanford vs. SMU and Cal vs. SMU.

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips released the following statement on the new scheduling format:

"We are extremely excited to welcome Cal, SMU and Stanford to the ACC and look forward to having them compete beginning in the fall of 2024. Throughout the entire scheduling model process, the membership was incredibly thoughtful and purposeful in building a creative, flexible and aggressive conference scheduling model while keeping the student-athlete experience at the forefront. The excitement and anticipation for our teams, alumni and fans will undoubtedly build as we look ahead to the future of this incredible conference."

The ACC's model is similar to the Big Ten's plans for upcoming seasons after the addition of USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon, starting in 2024.

The Big Ten will feature 18 teams; no divisions; nine conference games per school; 12 protected matchups to occur each season (Illinois vs. Northwestern, Illinois vs. Purdue, Indiana vs. Purdue, Iowa vs. Minnesota, Iowa vs. Nebraska, Iowa vs. Wisconsin, Maryland vs. Rutgers, Michigan vs. Michigan State, Michigan vs. Ohio State, Minnesota vs. Wisconsin, Oregon vs. Washington and UCLA vs. USC); and the Big Ten Football Championship Game occurring at the end of the season between the top two teams in the standings.

Conference realignment has been one of the major storylines in recent years, with the Pac-12 to fold as a conference after this season and Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC starting in 2024.

The Big 12 added Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado after losing Oklahoma and Texas, bringing it to 16 schools. A clear pecking order has emerged in the college football landscape, as the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC have consolidated all of the major football programs into just four conferences.