Winston-Salem, NC – While the Demon Deacons are almost two months away from kicking off the 2022 season with VMI on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Truist Field, the Atlantic Coast Conference has announced a new football scheduling model that will go into effect beginning with the 2023 season.
The new 3-5-5 model calls for each school to play three primary opponents annually and face the other 10 league teams twice during the four-year cycle, once at home and once on the road. The schedule enables every team to face all 13 conference opponents home and away during the four-year cycle. The structure was adopted by the league’s athletic directors and faculty athletic representatives earlier today.
The new schedule will eliminate the Atlantic and Coastal divisions with all 14 schools competing in one division beginning in 2023. The top two teams based on conference winning percentage will compete in the Subway ACC Football Championship Game on the first Saturday in December at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. In May, the NCAA Division I Council approved the deregulation of the current rule that had limited an individual conference’s autonomy to determine their football championship game participants.
Wake Forest’s three primary partners for the 2023-26 scheduling cycle will be Duke, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.
What They’re Saying:
Head Coach Dave Clawson:“I am excited for our student-athletes to play in every ACC stadium throughout the course of their career and welcome our league competitors to Truist Field as well. Our primary opponents allow us the opportunity to compete every other year where we recruit and we have dozens of current players from the Atlanta and Virginia areas.”
Director of Athletics John Currie: “Today’s announcement from the ACC is a victory for our student-athletes, fans, alumni and Winston-Salem & Triad communities. We look forward to a more variety of matchups across the conference as well as playing Duke, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech annually. With 12 student-athletes from Georgia and 11 current players from Virginia, having the Yellow Jackets and Hokies as primary opponents makes geographic sense and is great for our student-athletes and their families. With a strong alumni and fan presence in both the Atlanta area and throughout Virginia, and Blacksburg being a short drive we will have a strong presence in the stands at both Bobby Dodd Stadium and Lane Stadium.
“Today’s announcement also greatly improves the previous division-scheduling issue which reduced one of the oldest series in college football, Wake Forest – North Carolina, to only two scheduled games over 12 years. We also keep our annual rivalry game against Duke and while we will now play NC State twice over the next four years as opposed to every season, we add variety for matchups at Truist Field such as visits from the Miami Hurricanes, Pitt Panthers and other great institutions across our league more frequently.
“I look forward to seeing Deacon Nation inside Truist Field on Thursday, Sept. 1. Remember the ‘One More Rule’ as we need you to attend one more game than you did last year with our high-scoring and fun football team to go along with the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina awaiting you this fall in Winston-Salem.”
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D.“The future ACC football scheduling model provides significant enhancements for our schools and conference, with the most important being our student-athletes having the opportunity to play every school both home and away over a four-year period. We appreciate the thoughtful discussions within our membership, including the head football coaches and athletic directors. In the end, it was clear this model is in the best interest of our student-athletes, programs and fans, at this time.”
Grab Your Spot for the 2022 Season
With nearly 60 days to kickoff of the much anticipated 2022 Wake Forest football season, single-game tickets can now be purchased for all seven home games at Truist Field this fall.
Opening Night at Truist Field, presented by Pepsi vs.VMI on Thursday, Sept. 1: Starting at $15Wake Forest vs. Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 17: Starting at $15HomecomingWake Forest vs. Clemson on Saturday, Sept. 24: Starting at $75Wear Black SaturdayWake Forest vs. Army on Saturday, Oct. 8: Starting at $30Family WeekendWake Forest vs. Boston College on Saturday, Oct. 22: Starting at $25Hall of Fame WeekendWake Forest vs. North Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 19: Starting at $75Unrivaled WeekendWear Black SaturdayWake Forest vs. Syracuse on Saturday, Nov. 19: Starting at $25Senior Day
The best and most economical way to secure your spot for all seven home contests is by purchasing season tickets at GoDeacs.com/Tickets. Season tickets start as low as $125 with some sections already sold out and limited availability in the remaining sections.
Season tickets sales are at historic pace, the most sold year to date since the 2011 season. Additionally, there are very limited quantities for the Flow/Lexus Club, the Touchdown Club (Six-Game Package Only), Premium Chairbacks and West Side value seats. Season tickets on Deacon Hill and in the Touchdown Club are sold out as well as premium club tables in McCreary Tower.
In addition to having a 6-0 mark during 2021, Wake Forest rides a nine-game home winning streak into the upcoming season which is tied for the 10th longest streak in the nation.
Four-Packs On Sale Now
The opportunity is now available to secure seats for five of Wake Forest’s seven home games inside Truist Field through innovative and affordable four-packs of tickets for each game. Ticket locations are on the east side of the stadium, and parking is also included for the VMI, Liberty, Boston College, and Syracuse games at the LJVM Coliseum. With demand at record levels, only a limited number of packages are available at the current price, which are set to increase on Wednesday, August 17.
Opening Night at Truist Field, presented by Pepsi vs.VMI on Thursday, Sept. 1: $59Wake Forest vs. Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 17: $69Wake Forest vs. Army on Saturday, Oct. 8: $89 (pre-purchased parking not included due to the Carolina Classic Fair)Wake Forest vs. Boston College on Saturday, Oct. 22: $79Wake Forest vs. Syracuse on Saturday, Nov. 19: $79
The quickest and most efficient way to order season tickets or the limited-availability 4-Packs is to visit GoDeacs.com/Tickets and purchase online or call the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322 ext. 1. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Ticket Purchase Assurance Plan
The Ticket Purchase Assurance Program will be back in 2022 to provide the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina for all fans. Ticket holders who purchased directly through Wake Forest will continue to have their tickets protected with the TPA program.
This peace-of-mind initiative allows fans the ability to exchange purchased tickets from a home contest they can no longer attend for any reason toward the purchase of tickets to another home game at Truist Field. Additionally, if for some reason any portion of the 2022 schedule does not take place or if capacity restrictions change throughout the season due to COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, ticket holders who purchased directly through Wake Forest will continue to have their tickets protected with the TPA program.