Clemson to headline debut of ACC Network with Thursday opener against Georgia Tech
CHARLOTTE -- Clemson football has been the face of the ACC for the last four years. Lately, the gap between the Tigers and the rest of the conference is a notably large one.
On Friday afternoon, as Clemson prepares to play for its fourth consecutive conference title, ACC commissioner John Swofford announced a set date for the launch of the ACC Network.
The highly-anticipated network will launch on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference announced Friday. One week later, the Tigers will host Georgia Tech on the all-new ACC platform for the first conference game of the season.
That’s right. Georgia Tech. Clemson. Thursday night in Death Valley to kick off the college football season. Plan accordingly.
“Both programs have had a great deal of success and certainly Clemson with their most recent run to the College Football Playoffs,” Swofford said after his press conference. “We felt like it was a natural game to kick off the network.”
The network is set to air 1,300 live events annually across its TV and digital offerings around the conference’s 15 member schools.
There will be plenty of juice for that first game of the season with Clemson potentially coming off a conference championship and Playoff berth while Georgia Tech will have a new head coach on its sidelines for the first time in ten years.
With how tough it is already for Clemson fans to make it to Tiger Town for the weekend, Swofford was asked if there was any discussion on playing the game on Saturday instead of Thursday.
“No, it’s the opening weekend of college football season and the Thursday night is really the first night that people start playing so we want to be there right at the beginning,” Swofford added. “We haven't announced any other games through that particular weekend.”
There will be 40 regular-season football games, 150 men’s and women’s basketball games, and 200 other regular-season events from other sports broadcasted in the first year of the network’s functioning. Swofford said the rest of the ACC schedule will be finalized and released at some point towards the end of January.
“The thing that has been really good from our schools is that they’re all in on the network and you have to have it that way if you want to have your 24/7 network with a partner like ESPN,” Swofford continued. “Everybody understands the importance of scheduling.”
The network will be vital to the ACC as it continues to build its brand throughout the coming years. One thing’s for sure, Clemson football will be at the top of the list when it comes to who are they want to showcase. There’s plenty to look forward to, and it all begins Thursday, Aug. 29, at Memorial Stadium.
You can watch Clemson compete against Pitt 7-5 (6-2) for the ACC championship on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 8:00 P.M. on ABC.