GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast and Big Ten Conferences announced Tuesday the matchups for the 2023 ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge. The sixth annual event will take place next Feb. 16-19 and has been expanded to include games played between the two leagues in the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational, in addition to other programs playing four games each at campus sites.
ACC champion Florida State, regular-season champion Virginia Tech and Duke will represent the ACC in the 2023 TaxAct Clearwater Invitational, while Indiana, Michigan and Nebraska will comprise the Big Ten contingent in the tournament. The head-to-head results between ACC and Big Ten schools at the event will count towards the final ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge standings.
Four ACC schools will serve as host sites for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge — Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and NC State — with the other ACC participants being Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia. Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin will compete from the Big Ten.
The ACC owns a 3-2 lead during the first five years of the Challenge. The ACC won the Challenge in 2017, 2018 and 2020, with the Big Ten claiming the title in 2016 and 2019.
The ACC and Big Ten offices collaborate to determine the schedule each season for the event, which returns for the first time since 2020. In addition, the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2023 event will be referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the conferences’ Challenge agreements for men's basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball.
Exact game dates and times, as well as television and online coverage, will be announced at a later date.
The 2023 ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge participants and site assignments can be found below.
2023 ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge
(all games to be played Feb. 16-19, 2023)
Clearwater, Fla. (TaxAct Clearwater Invitational)
(results between ACC and Big Ten schools will count towards Challenge standings)
ACC – Duke, Florida State, Virginia Tech
Big Ten – Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska
Atlanta, Ga. (host – Georgia Tech)
ACC – Georgia Tech, Louisville
Big Ten – Illinois, Wisconsin
Chapel Hill, N.C. (host – North Carolina)
ACC – North Carolina, Virginia
Big Ten – Maryland, Minnesota
Clemson, S.C. (host – Clemson)
ACC – Clemson, Notre Dame
Big Ten – Northwestern, Ohio State
Raleigh, N.C. (host – NC State)
ACC – NC State, Syracuse
Big Ten – Iowa, Purdue