It’s been churning through the rumor mill for some time, but the ACC finally announced its new bowl lineup beginning for the 2014 season.
The ACC champion, as previously announced, is contracted to play in the Orange Bowl for the next 12 years when the game is not part of the semifinal rotation in College Football Playoff. All other bowl agreements announced by the ACC today are a six-year deal through 2019. The simplified lineup of the ACC’s bowl agreements is as follows:
- Discover Orange Bowl
- Russell Athletic Bowl
- Hyundai Sun Bowl
- Belk Bowl
- Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
- TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
- New Era Pinstripe Bowl
The Russell Athletic Bowl, as expected, will select the next ACC team after the Orange Bowl. However, the ACC will take the Big Ten’s slot in the Capital One Bowl when a Big Ten opponent plays the ACC in the Orange Bowl. In that case, the Capital One Bowl would select the next ACC team, followed the Russell Athletic Bowl.
After the Russell Athletic Bowl, the Belk, Pinstripe, Sun, and either the Gator or Music City bowls will share in the selection order to give the conference greater flexibility. The Gator and Music City bowls will only get an ACC and Big Ten team three times in the next six years.
The ACC is also said to be a partner in the new bowl game in Detroit that also features the Big Ten conference. You can read more from the ACC release HERE.