ACC mulls 3-5-5 college football scheduling model in an effort to scrap divisions

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — The ACC is moving closer to adopting a new football scheduling format that would scrap divisions and give teams an opportunity to play each other more frequently, starting as early as 2023.

Though no vote was taken to formally change the format, commissioner Jim Phillips and multiple athletic directors discussed a 3-5-5 scheduling model, where league teams would play three permanent opponents, then rotate through the rest over a two-year period (five one year, five the next).

Earlier this week, the NCAA Football Oversight Committee recommended conferences no longer be required to have divisions to hold a conference championship game. The Division I Council is set to vote on it later this month, where it is expected to pass.

Phillips has repeatedly said conferences should have the right to determine their conference champion, and he had been in favor of passing the required legislation to make it happen. Phillips discussed the new scheduling format with ADs and coaches during league-wide meetings to get their feedback.

«The two, I think, drivers to this: One, is the opportunity for our student athletes to play every school in the ACC over a four-year period of time,» Phillips said. «That's just not the case right now. The other piece of it is, I've always felt that was a local decision about how you handle your conference. You're seeing that across multiple conferences that they'd like to dictate what their championship structure looks like, and which will lead into eventually an expanded football playoff.

»You want your two best teams to have a chance to play at the end of the year for a lot of reasons. So that's why it's taken us… you may think it's a little bit longer, but it really isn't. We're