ACC Announces Cancellation of Its Biggest Game of Season After Playoff Expansion
The move follows a new ESPN contract and a playoff format that gives the Power Four champions automatic spots, officials said.
- On Monday, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that the 2026 ACC Football Championship Game, scheduled for Dec. 5 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, will be the conference's final annual championship game.
- Following the College Football Playoff's expansion to 24 teams, ESPN agreed to a new contract adding $1.7 billion over five years to the existing $7.8 billion deal through 2031, eliminating Power Four conference title games.
- ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips stated the game has been an "important and meaningful part" of conference history, adding that the expansion creates "additional opportunities for ACC programs to compete on the sport's biggest stage."
- Duke Blue Devils head football coach Manny Diaz called the move "inevitable at some point," though he expressed uncertainty about how the conference would determine future champions in a "bloated conference."
- Former coach Urban Meyer expressed disappointment over the loss, stating, "Yeah, it breaks my heart," while emphasizing that conference title games remain unmatched in college football tradition and significance.
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