ACC Men’s Basketball Moves to 18-Game Conference Schedule Beginning in 2025-26
5/7/2025 4:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – The Atlantic Coast Conference has announced its men's basketball teams will move an 18-game conference schedule beginning with the 2025-26 season. Pitt will retain Syracuse as its primary partner keeping the rivalry intact with the two programs playing twice a season.
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. Teams will play one game, home or away, against 14 of the remaining 15 teams annually.
The breakdown of 2025-26 opponents and conference schedules will be announced at a later date.
The ACC has conducted 20-game conference schedules since the 2019-20 season and last played 18-game league schedules from the 2012-13 through 2018-19 seasons.
The decision to return to an 18-game conference schedule comes after continued strategic assessment, during which the conference office collaborated with athletics directors, coaches, external consultants and television partners. This included working with multiple experts to conduct statistical analysis to examine the conference's basketball product, metrics, and scheduling.
The ACC has taken a clear and intentional approach to enhancing men's basketball, applying a comprehensive, 360-degree focus to the sport. Beyond scheduling, the league continues to collaborate closely with its member institutions and has strengthened its marketing and branding efforts – including expanded coverage through ACC Network programming – to spotlight players, coaches, and programs. This past season, the implementation of success incentives began, which financially reward those that invest and achieve success in basketball while viewership incentives are scheduled to begin in 2025-26.
"As a league, we have been transparent about the importance of ACC Men's Basketball and specifically our commitment to ensuring it is best positioned for the future," said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. "Moving to an 18-game conference schedule is a direct result of our ongoing strategic review and analysis and provides our schools a better balance of non-conference and conference games while also allowing them more autonomy in the scheduling process. This decision reflects our on-going prioritization to do what's best for ACC Men's Basketball, and we appreciate the thoughtfulness of our membership and the support from our television partners."
Following the regular season, the 2026 T. Rowe Price ACC Men's Basketball Tournament will be held Tuesday through Saturday, March 10-14, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 73rd edition of the tournament will be played for the 15th time in Charlotte, including the fourth at Spectrum Center (2008, 2019, 2025). The bracket – inclusive of seeding, times and networks – will be announced on Saturday, March 7 following the conclusion of the regular season.
ACC Primary Partners
- Boston College-Notre Dame
- Clemson-Georgia Tech
- California-Stanford
- Duke-North Carolina
- Florida State-Miami
- Louisville-SMU
- NC State-Wake Forest
- Pitt-Syracuse
- Virginia Tech-Virginia
THE PITT-SYRACUSE RIVALRY
- The Pitt-Syracuse rivalry on the hardwood dates back to 1914 with the two programs playing at least twice a season since 2013 when the Panthers joined the ACC.
- The former Big East rivals have squared off at least once in every season since the 1982-83 campaign.
- The Panthers have won seven of the past 10 meetings in the series.
- Pitt trails in the all-time series 76-52, but are 26-18 against the Orange since the start of the 2001-02 season.
- The Panthers are 13-6 all-time against Syracuse at the Petersen Events Center.
ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS
- Of the league's 19 NCAA Tournament bids in the last four seasons, five ACC teams have reached the Final Four, the most of any conference.
- ACC teams own a 38-19 (.667 win percentage) in the NCAA Tournament in the last four seasons, the best of any major conference.
- The ACC has captured three of the last 10 NCAA Championships (Duke 2015, North Carolina 2017 and Virginia 2019).
- Since 2015, the ACC leads all conferences in Men's Final Four appearances (10) and NCAA Tournament wins (116).
- Six different ACC programs have reached the Final Four since 2015 (Duke, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, Syracuse) – the most schools of any league in that span.
- ACC Men's Basketball has won 15 NCAA national championships overall.
- Teams currently in the ACC have combined to win eight of the last 24 NCAA crowns and 19 overall.
- Since the tournament expanded in 1985, nearly half of the ACC teams that earned NCAA Tournament bids have reached the Sweet 16 (106 of 218).