ACC sticking with 8-game conference schedule for football

Despite it looking just a few days ago like the ACC was destined to move to a nine-game conference schedule for football, the league announced today that it would be sticking with the status quo.

The ACC's athletic directors voted on Wednesday to stick with an eight-game conference schedule for football in which all teams must play at least one non-conference game against "Power Five" conference opponent. Louisville is already scheduled to play multiple Power Five opponents in each of the next three years, with its annual rivalry game against Kentucky paired with non-conference showdowns against Purdue (2017), Alabama (2018) and Notre Dame (2019).

There had been some thought that in the name of television, money and ESPN, the league might be forced to add an extra league game. Instead, the ACC is following in the footsteps of the decision the SEC made two years ago and sticking with the system that has brought them success in the (brief) playoff era.