CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today its plans in partnership with the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation through its Extra Yard for Teachers (EYFT) platform during the 2025 football season. The initiatives include support for this year’s Extra Yard for Teachers Week and Big Day for Teachers in September and the distribution of grant funds to support teachers in Charlotte and in the two communities of the teams that will play in this year’s ACC Football Championship Game in December.
“We are thrilled to continue our work with the College Football Playoff Foundation and make a meaningful impact in the lives of students and educators,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “Supporting education has always been a priority for the ACC and our 18 member institutions. We deeply appreciate the dedication of teachers and staff, whose daily efforts inspire and shape the leaders of tomorrow.”
“Working with the ACC has been such a great way to celebrate teachers and shine a light on the incredible impact they have on students,” said Britton Banowsky, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff Foundation. “We couldn’t do what we do without amazing partners like the ACC, and we’re so thankful for the difference they help make for educators everywhere.”
For the third straight year, the ACC will partner with a local Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) to remodel a space that will directly benefit the school’s students on a daily basis. In 2024, the conference worked with members of the Statesville Road Elementary administration, teachers and staff who were the recipients of a
$50,000 Extra Yard makeover. Additional details on this year’s makeover will be announced in the future, as this will be the first year the conference will undertake two classroom makeovers.
Since the inception of the ACC and CFP Foundation’s partnership, over $1.5 million has been given to support teachers in the ACC footprint.
As part of this year’s Extra Yard for Teachers Week (September 13-20) and the Big Day for Teachers (September 16), the conference and its membership will celebrate and recognize teachers through its digital and social platforms, as well as in person during various football games across the ACC footprint. The ACC Network and the conference’s digital and social channels will share testimonials from coaches and student-athletes about the impact of educators, and the ACC and CFP Foundation will fund selected DonorsChoose.org classroom project requests.
Created in 2015 as a national celebration of teachers, EYFT Week is supported by the CFP Foundation and its college football partners. The CFP Foundation works in close partnership with the schools, conferences, bowls, ESPN, and education supporters across the country to honor and recognize the meaningful work of teachers for the entire week.
The College Football Playoff Foundation is the largest sports entity in America that is supporting education. Its nationwide Extra Yard for Teachers platform has collectively invested approximately $92 million in support of education. The CFP Foundation Extra Yard for Teachers platform is successful in supporting and uplifting teachers by focusing on four major areas: recognition, resources, professional development, and recruitment and retention. Since its inception, the CFP Foundation has supported nearly 650,000 teachers nationwide, creating a positive impact for more than 13 million students and 81,000 schools.
For more information about the CFP Foundation, visit cfp-foundation.org and for more about the Atlantic Coast Conference, visit theACC.com.
About the Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference, in its 73rd year and 18 members strong, stands as one of the most competitive and revered intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members including Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are dedicated to upholding the league's founding values of academic excellence, athletic competition at the highest level, and integrity. The ACC supports 28 NCAA sports, with 15 for women and 13 for men, and its member institutions span 12 states. In August 2019, the ACC and ESPN partnered to launch ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network exclusively devoted to ACC sports and original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow the ACC on Instagram (@accsports), Twitter (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).
About the College Football Playoff Foundation
The College Football Playoff Foundation is the 501(c)3 non-profit organization serving as the community engagement arm of the College Football Playoff and works in partnership with institutions of higher education, sports organizations, corporations and nonprofits to support educators and improve U.S. student outcomes. The purpose of the CFP Foundation lies in supporting PK-12 education across the country. The CFP Foundation’s primary platform, Extra Yard for Teachers, is dedicated to elevating the teaching profession by inspiring and empowering teachers in four core areas: resources, recognition, professional development, recruitment and retention. To learn more, visit cfp-foundation.org and follow Extra Yard for Teachers (@CFPExtraYard) on social media.