ACC/SEC Basketball Challenge Announced

The SEC and ACC announced Monday that the two conferences will begin the ACC/SEC Challenge starting in the 2023-24 season. Both women’s and men’s teams from each conference will compete in the challenge. All 28 of the games will be streamed on ESPN’s platform with both conferences hosting equal numbers of home games. The matchups have yet to be announced. Additionally, the challenge will increase to 30 matchups when Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC.

An End to an Era

The new challenge will mark the end of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The ACC/Big Ten Challenge first began in 1999 while the SEC/Big 12 challenge started in 2013. The 10th and final challenge between the SEC and Big 12 will take place on Jan. 28, 2023. The final game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge will be on Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/accmbb/status/1597243921956016128

The 2023 Season

The SEC and ACC commissioners both released statements saying they are excited for both the women’s and men’s programs to have these new opportunities. While they thanked the Big Ten and Big 12 for their time together as partners, they believe this new era of basketball will be exciting for coaches, fans and student-athletes.

Nick Dawson, the vice president of ESPN, also touched on the newfound partnership. He said these college basketball challenges have been a staple for their network for over two decades. Dawson said in the statement that he is “looking forward to finding more ways to creatively partner with both conferences in 2023-24 and beyond.”

https://twitter.com/SEC/status/1597244739015016448