Atlantic Coast Conference Announces Early Season TV and Game Time Schedule

by Press Release - Thu Jun 04 11:41:58 GMT-04:00 2009

Greensboro, N.C. – Seventeen televised games in the first three weeks of the season, including five national exposures in a season-opening, seven-day span, headline the early-season football television schedule announced today by Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford.

The ACC begins 2009 in a big way with nationally televised contests on Thursday, Saturday and Monday of Labor Day weekend, led by the return of the Miami–Florida State rivalry to ESPN’s Monday Night Football. NC State begins the weekend and the year by hosting South Carolina in a nationally-televised ESPN contest at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Virginia Tech then meets Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in the 2009 Chick-fil-A National Kickoff Game, which will be nationally televised on ABC at 8 p.m., followed by Maryland traveling to California for a 10 pm late-night national exposure on ESPN2. FSU then hosts Miami in the Labor Day Monday night (Sept. 7, 8 pm) contest from Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.

Later that week, Clemson travels to Georgia Tech on Thursday, Sept. 10, for a key conference matchup between the two long-time rivals that will be televised nationally by ESPN.

In all, the ACC announced 13 nationally televised games, 10 of which will occur in the first three weeks, including a double-header appearance on Versus on Sept. 19 (Duke–Kansas, 12 noon; Florida State-BYU, 7 pm), a third ESPN Thursday night exposure (Georgia Tech at Miami, Sept. 17, 7:30 pm), another ESPN or ESPN2 telecast (East Carolina at North Carolina, Sept. 19, 12 pm) and a Duke-Army contest on ESPN Classic (Sept. 12).

In all, the ACC will have six games televised in ESPN’s prominent Thursday Night package. Florida State travels to North Carolina on Oct. 22 (8 p.m.), followed by the Tar Heels then visiting Virginia Tech (Oct. 29. 7:30 pm) and the Hokies then travelling to East Carolina (Nov. 5, 7:30 pm).

In addition to the 10 national exposures in the first three weeks of 2009, two games—Baylor at Wake Forest on Sept. 5 and Nebraska at Virginia Tech on Sept. 19 will be regionally-televised on ABC, but will also be shown to most of the rest of the country on ESPN2. Both games will have a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.

The ACC’s regional football syndicator—Raycom Sports—begins its 12-week package with a pair of intriguing early-season match-ups as Stanford of the PAC-10 visits Wake Forest on Sept. 12 at BB&T Field, and Boston College travels to Clemson in an early-season ACC Atlantic Division matchup on Sept. 19 at Memorial Stadium. Both games will have a 12 noon kickoff. Raycom begins its regional telecasts on Sept. 12 and ends on Nov. 28.

Additionally, one ACC game--TCU at Virginia (Sept. 12)—will be televised on ESPNU and nine games will be offered on ESPN’s video streaming platform, ESPN 360.com.

After the first three weeks of the season (games through Sept. 19) game times and TV will be announced weekly with ESPN/ABC and Raycom Sports making their choices with a 12-day advanced notice beginning on Monday, Sept. 14 (for games on Saturday, Sept. 26).

2009 Atlantic Coast Conference

Early Season Football Television Schedule

(All times Eastern)

Date Game Network Gametime

Sept. 3 South Carolina at NC State ESPN 7 pm

Sept. 5 Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech ESPN 360.com 1 pm

Sept. 5 Northeastern at Boston College ESPN 360.com 2 pm

Sept. 5 Baylor at Wake Forest ABC/ESPN2* 3:30 pm

Sept. 5 Middle Tennessee at Clemson ESPN 360.com 6 pm

Sept. 5 The Citadel at North Carolina ESPN 360.com 6 pm

Sept. 5 William & Mary at Virginia ESPN 360.com 6 pm

Sept. 5 Richmond at Duke 7 pm