Women's Basketball

ACC Unveils 2025-26 Women’s Basketball Conference Schedule

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference today announced its 2025-26 women’s basketball conference schedule. The ACC’s regular-season conference slate features 162 total games, 18 games apiece for each school, beginning Sunday, November 16 and finishing Sunday, March 1.

“Year after year, the ACC sets the standard as the premier conference in college basketball, and our postseason success continues to reflect that,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “With a pair of new coaches and very talented rosters across the league, we are looking forward to another exciting season of ACC Women’s Basketball as we continue to build on the legacy that has already been established.”

In the second season of a two-year schedule model, the 2025-26 schedule includes:
  • Each school being paired with a designated travel partner for a home-and-away series.
  • Annual flipping of home and away matchups.
  • ACC members traveling to the Pacific Time Zone once every two seasons.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the 2026 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament will be played at Gas South Arena in Greater Atlanta, marking the first time the annual event will be held at a neutral site outside of the Carolinas. Similar to last season, the top 15 teams will qualify for the tournament. With games featured on ACC Network and ESPN2 throughout the week, the championship game will air on ESPN.

Conference play tips off on Sunday, November 16, when Clemson hosts Louisville in a rematch of their tightly contested second-round matchup at the 2025 Ally ACC Tournament, which required overtime before the Cardinals advanced to the quarterfinals with a 70-68 victory.

Sunday, December 7, marks the first play date with conference contests, while the rest of the league will begin conference play on Sunday, December 14.

This season’s slate also features the third edition of the ACC/SEC Challenge, with all 16 games airing on ESPN networks and streaming via the ESPN app to authenticated subscribers. This year’s Challenge tips off on Wednesday, December 3 and concludes on Thursday, December 4.

Game times and broadcast networks will be announced at a later date.

Five ACC teams enter the 2025-26 season ranked in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Women’s Basketball Top 25, including three teams in the top 10 with Duke (No. 8), NC State (No. 9) and North Carolina (No. 10). Louisville (No. 17) and Notre Dame (No. 18) also appear in the top 25.

Current ACC member institutions have won six NCAA Championships, and 11 different ACC institutions have combined for 43 Final Four appearances. Since 2014, the ACC has posted 141 victories in the NCAA Tournament, tied for the most among all conferences. The league has sent at least one team to the Elite Eight in 23 consecutive tournaments, the longest active streak of any conference. In 2025, eight ACC teams earned NCAA Tournament berths, matching the conference record for the seventh straight season.