Cal Will Play Nine ACC Games Next Season

Cal will play nine ACC games next season, which is one more ACC games than it plays this season.

The ACC announced Monday that its athletic directors have approved a change in scheduling in which its teams will play nine conference games, instead of the eight it plays this season. An additional part of that change is that ACC teams will be required to play at least 10 games against teams from Power 4 conferences.

The new scheduling rule does not become official until it is ratified by the ACC faculty athletics representatives later this week, but ratification is expected.

Most ACC teams will begin playing nine conference games plus at least one game against a Power 4 team next season, according to the ESPN report. Cal is believed to be in the group that will face nine conference opponents in 2026.  That would mean Cal would have to eliminate one of the four nonconference games scheduled for next season, although Cal will not announce that decision until after the schedule change is ratified.

Cal is scheduled to play UCLA, BYU, UNLV and Wagner in its four nonconference games next season, and the Bears would be required to keep either UCLA or BYU on its 2026 schedule to get to the required 10 Power 4 opponents. There’s a chance Cal would keep both those games on its schedule for next year and try to remove either UNLV or Wagner from its 2026 schedule.

Cal would also need to add one conference opponent to its 2026 schedule, although that decision is likely to be made by the ACC office.

Currently, Cal is scheduled to face Clemson, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Stanford in home games next season, and will play North Carolina State, SMU, Syracuse and Virginia in road games in 2026. Cal is guaranteed to face Stanford every year.

One of the eight other ACC teams would be added to Cal’s 2026 schedule – Florida State, Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Boston College, Louisville or Pittsburgh – although it’s unclear whether that ninth game with be home or away.

By going to a nine-game conference schedule the ACC would be in line with the other three Power 4 conferences. The Big Ten and Big 12 already have nine-game conference schedules, and the Southeastern Conference announced that it will move to a nine-game conference schedule in 2026.

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement that the ACC athletic directors "overwhelmingly" supported the change to a nine-game conference schedule.