Georgia Tech's Week 1 matchup against Clemson will mark the first telecast on the forthcoming ACC NetworkGETTY IMAGES
With the ACC Network launching in August, the conference "appears set to schedule three league games to kick off" the '19 football season, "enhancing its new cable channel and complementing several marquee non-conference matchups," according to David Teel of the Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS. The ACC Network will officially launch Thursday, Aug. 22, with the channel’s first football telecast featuring Georgia Tech-Clemson one week later. Two additional Week 1 conference games "would allow the ACC to play one each on Friday and Saturday, or both Saturday." Virginia "likely will open at Pittsburgh," and Virginia Tech at Boston College. Week 1 will also include "no games against Championship Subdivision opponents, affirming ACC Commissioner John Swofford’s determination to make the opening weekend more attractive to spectators and television viewers." The ACC "hasn’t started a season with three conference matchups" since '96, and at least one league team has "opened versus an FCS opponent in each of the last 13 years." ACC officials will unveil the '19 schedule in the "next few weeks" (Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS, 1/8). THE ATHLETIC's Andy Bitter noted having "high-profile football games on the front end of the schedule could help the league as it finalizes its carriage deals" (THEATHLETIC.com, 1/7).
