ACC, ESPN announce media rights extension through 2035-36

By Kevin Kelley -

The ACC and ESPN have announced an extension to their current media rights agreement, which will now run through the 2035-36 season.

Per the announcement, ESPN has “…exercised its option to extend the league’s base rights agreement and ESPN will continue as the ACC’s media partner through the 2035-36 academic year.”

“We are pleased to extend our media rights agreement with the ACC through 2036, continuing our longstanding relationship,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN. “We remain committed to serving the ACC, its member schools, student athletes and fans via comprehensive live game coverage, storytelling and broad exposure across our unprecedented array of networks and platforms, including ACC Network. The ACC is a pillar of ESPN’s leading commitment to college sports and we are thrilled to continue the partnership over the next decade.”

ESPN’s contract with the ACC was set to expire in 2027, but ESPN’s decision to exercise its option extends the agreement for an additional nine years.

“We appreciate the ongoing partnership with ESPN and their enduring commitment that further solidifies the ACC as a premier league in all facets,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “The extension showcases the importance of our long-standing relationship, and I want to personally thank the entire ESPN team for their leadership and dedication to our collective future. In addition, I want to thank our ACC Board of Directors who have been involved throughout this entire process. The resolve from both parties to further enhance the partnership through innovation and creativity to continue to drive additional value remains our top priority.”

News of the ESPN-ACC extension was first reported Thursday morning by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports. You can read that story for more details, but one interesting item is Notre Dame playing more prominent ACC opponents on a regular basis:

As part of a scheduling arrangement under discussion, the league’s biggest brands — Florida State, Miami and Clemson — are expected to play more football games regularly with Notre Dame. The Irish are expected to play, at the very least, two of the three each season in a rotation.

The ESPN-ACC extension also paves the way for the league to possibly settle lawsuits with Clemson and Florida State in order to retain both schools as members.

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