ACC/SEC Challenge to start in 2023-24 season

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The Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference and ESPN announced the creation of the ACC/SEC Challenge for men’s and women’s basketball earlier today. 

The contests between both conferences will begin in the 2023-24 season with 28 games scheduled for next season, and 30 the year after that. All games will be broadcasted on an ESPN platform and each conference will host an equal number of home games, according to the ACC. 

 “The future ACC/SEC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Challenges will be outstanding events for our student-athletes, member institutions and fans,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said in the statement. “The SEC, led by Greg Sankey, and our partners at ESPN have been terrific, and there’s great excitement for the first annual ACC/SEC Challenge next season.”

Phillips also acknowledged the Big Ten, who have played against the ACC for the last 23 years in men’s basketball and the last 15 years on the women’s side. The final games of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge will be this year with Syracuse’s last matchups this week. The men will play at Illinois on Nov. 29 and the women will play at Purdue on Nov. 30. The SEC will finish its 10th SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which starts on Jan. 28, 2023.

“We look forward to showcasing the talented men’s and women’s programs throughout the ACC and SEC in the years ahead through this exciting new collaboration with both conferences,” said ESPN Vice President Nick Dawson said. “Since establishing the very first interconference challenge in 1999, these events have been a staple of our college basketball schedule for more than two decades.”