Leave it to the ACC to go places nobody has gone (and probably didn’t want to go) before. Today, it was announced that North Carolina and Wake Forest will play each other in a home-and-home series in 2019 and 2021 but the games will count as non-conference games. Confused? Me to.
Here’s more info from ESPN….
The North Carolina Tar Heels and Wake Forest Demon Deacons have achieved a scheduling first: The ACC schools announced Monday they have agreed to a home-and-home nonconference series in 2019 and 2021.
This is the first time two power-five teams from the same league have agreed to play each other nonconference. The games will not count in the league standings.
“This is a unique opportunity to play a regional rival in years that fall outside the normal conference rotation,” North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham said. “We have a long history with Wake Forest that has historical value and will generate interest within our fans.”
North Carolina and Wake Forest are in separate divisions in the ACC and no longer play on an annual basis. Because of that, the two have only met four times since 2004.
The two are scheduled to play a conference game in Chapel Hill in 2015. But their next scheduled conference game is not until 2022 in Winston-Salem.
Rather than wait seven years until their next game, the two sides agreed on the nonconference series. Last year, ACC athletic directors began seriously discussing the idea of setting up nonconference games against league teams in the opposite division for two reasons: To avoid going so many years between games, and to add another power-five opponent to the schedule.
