UK-Louisville football battle still feasible under ACC’s new 2020 schedule model
The Atlantic Coast Conference plans to play college football this fall, albeit with a different schedule than originally created.
ACC teams will now play a schedule consisting of 10 conference games and one non-conference opponent, the league announced Wednesday. The first football games will be allowed to kick off the week of Sept. 7-12, a week later than the league’s 14 teams were originally slated to kick off.
Additionally, Notre Dame — an independent in football that typically plays 5-6 ACC teams each season — will, for this season, play a full 10-game conference schedule and be eligible to compete for the 2020 ACC title.
Non-conference opponents must be played in the home state of the ACC institution, and all non-conference opponents must meet the medical protocol requirements as agreed upon by the ACC.
For the state of Kentucky, that likely means the annual Governor’s Cup tilt between Kentucky and Louisville, a member of the ACC, will remain on the schedule in 2020. That game currently is slated for Nov. 28, two days after Thanksgiving, but potential adjustments to either team’s schedule could result in the changing of the date.
Kentucky and Louisville have played football against each other every year since 1994. The Wildcats hold a 17-15 edge in the all-time rivalry but trail 15-11 since the game became an annual fixture. This season’s contest is set to be played at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.
UK is a member of the Southeastern Conference, which has yet to reveal its plans — if any — for an adjusted fall schedule. The new schedule shared Wednesday by the ACC had every team’s non-conference opponent marked as “TBA.”
Louisville originally was supposed to kick off its season Sept. 2 at home against North Carolina State. Now the Cardinals won’t even play N.C. State in 2020. Their new ACC home games this season are: Florida State, Miami, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. The Cardinals now will visit Boston College, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Virginia.
“I’m thrilled with the positive news coming from the Atlantic Coast Conference about moving forward with a new scheduling model for the 2020 season,” Cardinals Coach Scott Satterfield said. “The proposed home and away schedule is extremely challenging, but very exciting at the same time. We now have a clear direction about the upcoming football season, and our program is just looking forward to beginning those preparations next week.”
The week-by-week schedule and television selections for football games will be released later, the league said. All 11 games will be played over the course of 13 weeks, giving each school two open dates on its calendar. There are no divisions for 2020; the ACC championship game will pit the two teams with the highest winning percentage in conference games against each other. It will be played either Dec. 12 or Dec. 19 in Charlotte, N.C.
Louisville’s original schedule called for non-conference home games against in-state foes Western Kentucky and Murray State in addition to Kentucky. WKU and Murray were to each earn hundreds of thousands of dollars from U of L for paying the Cardinals a visit. There was no word Wednesday evening on how those contracts would be resolved.
The ACC also announced that fall Olympic sports may begin competition on Sept. 10. Some sports — field hockey, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball — must play a conference-only schedule that meets the minimum amount of games that must be played to be eligible for NCAA postseason competition. Schools at their own discretion may schedule non-conference opponents or additional games against conference opponents that would not count in the ACC standings.
“We are encouraged with the ACC announcement today regarding fall sports competition,” U of L Athletics Director Vince Tyra said. “While the health and safety of our student athletes is our top priority, we have multiple models under review for as many Cardinals fans as possible to attend games this fall. We will continue to monitor the health climate and work with local and state officials to communicate fan protocols as we get closer to the start of the season.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 4:45 PM.
