In creating the ACC Network, ESPN required two scheduling concessions. The first, expanding the league's men's basketball schedule from 18 to 20 games per team, was announced last month at the network's unveiling.



Now it's time for the second, in football.



With commissioner John Swofford, ACC athletic directors will convene via conference call at 9 a.m. Friday to deliberate, and perhaps approve, one of two options provided by ESPN: expand the league schedule from eight to nine games, while continuing to play at least one outside Power Five opponent annually; or, remain at eight conference games and play at least two nonleague Power Fives each season.



The ADs could deadlock and/or delay their decision Friday, but status quo is about to vanish.



This is an either/or negotiated by ESPN, the ACC's primary broadcast outlet and partner in the network.



ESPN wants the additional quality content for the ACC Network, which is set to launch in 2019 and air approximately 40 football and 100 men's basketball games per year.



"There's a lot of merit on both sides of the issue," Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock said, declining to reveal his preference. "We have to balance what our fans want, what the league wants, what television wants, what our coaches want. But it's a long-term, what's-in-the-best-interests-of-the-ACC decision. I look forward to that dialogue, and at the end of the day, we'll fully support the decision and move forward."



Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage could not to be reached, but has long supported a nine-game format.



Given how far in advance programs schedule non-conference football games — Virginia Tech and Arizona recently agreed to a series in 2029 and '30 — Wake Forest's Ron Wellman hopes he and his 13 colleagues reach consensus Friday.



"If we're going to be scheduling (two Power Fives), we all have to get going on that," Wellman said.



The ACC's longest-tenured athletic director at 24 years, Wellman is well-versed in the 8 vs. 9 debate, which has engulfed the league since the additions of Pittsburgh and Syracuse in 2013 grew football membership to 14.



"It's a little bit hard to predict because we've had this discussion a couple of times," he said. "We've voted on it a couple of times. We've had straw votes. I'm not sure what the outcome of this particular call will be."



The last straw vote was July 20 in Charlotte, N.C., the afternoon before the ACC Network announcement at the league's preseason football gathering. The most recent formal vote was in May 2014 when, without network mandates from ESPN, the athletic directors voted 8-6 to remain at eight games, the league's format since 1992.



The ACC did not reveal the vote's specifics, but snooping shows it broke down as follows:



Virginia Tech, Clemson, Florida State, Duke, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Miami and Pitt favored eight.



Virginia, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Syracuse and Boston College wanted nine.



Adding intrigue to the current dynamic: Pitt and Syracuse have since hired new athletic directors, Scott Barnes with the Panthers, John Wildhack with the Orange. Moreover, Wildhack brings a unique television perspective to the discussion, having served as ESPN's vice president for programming and production, a role in which he negotiated rights deals with the ACC and SEC, among others.



Finally, while Clemson, Florida State, Virginia, N.C. State and Georgia Tech appear entrenched — outgoing Yellow Jackets AD Mike Bobinski told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Ken Sugiura that he favors the 8/2 model — others such as Virginia Tech, Miami and Pitt may be fluid.



After approving Pitt's and Syracuse's admission, the ACC adopted a nine-game format in 2012 but reversed course eight months later in the wake of adding Notre Dame as a partial member. The Fighting Irish play, on average, five football games a year against rotating ACC opponents.



Notre Dame complicates non-conference scheduling, especially for the four ACC programs with annual state rivalries against SEC opponents: Georgia Tech-Georgia; Clemson-South Carolina; Florida State-Florida; Louisville-Kentucky.



Wellman said that after consulting with Wake coach Dave Clawson on Monday, he is undecided on how he'll vote. But he quickly mentioned the difficulty of scheduling two Power Five non-conference opponents a year.



"Not that it couldn't be done," Wellman said, "but it certainly would be a challenge. … Our fans love to watch ACC games, especially the traditional ACC games that have been a part of our schedule for decades. … The reality is, ACC games are very attractive to our fans and our players and everyone associated with Wake Forest."



So attractive that after the 2014 vote to remain at eight league games, Wellman scheduled "non-conference" games against North Carolina for 2019 and '21.



Eight conference games translate to playing six of the seven teams from the opposite division, on average, only once every six years, once every 12 at home.



Clemson at Virginia Tech once every 12 seasons? The same with Georgia Tech at Florida State, Duke at North Carolina State, North Carolina at Wake Forest and myriad others?



It borders on indefensible. Conference colleagues should play one another more often, and a nine-game schedule would double the frequency to once every three years.



Scrapping the permanent crossover partners would increase frequency, but neither the ACC nor ESPN want to sacrifice annual rivalries such as Florida State-Miami and North Carolina-N.C. State.



Consider the other power conferences: The Big Ten shifted to nine games this season in the wake of its expansion to 14 teams. Even with two fewer teams, the Pacific 12 plays nine, as does the 10-member Big 12. The SEC is fixed on eight.



So good luck to most ACC athletic directors finding two Power Five opponents each year.



"Expansion is one of the best things we've done in the conference," Wellman said. "John Swofford led that effort very effectively, and we all went into it with our eyes open. But the more conference games you play, the more attractive I think the schedule is."



Regardless of which option they choose, the athletic directors appear determined to retain the option of playing Football Championship Subdivision opponents. Though often one-sided, those games provide a financial windfall and competitive highlight for programs such as William and Mary, Richmond, Liberty and James Madison.



Virginia Tech is scheduled to play an FCS team in each of the next six seasons, Virginia each of the next three — games Babcock and Littlepage want to retain.



"We have a number of FCS games scheduled in the future," Wellman said, "and those are very valuable to us. And we're in a territory of the country where FCS is a valuable commodity, and we see that as an important relationship. … I was at an FCS school (Illinois State) for five years, and boy, you look forward to those games. It's a great opportunity for your student-athletes and institution."



In announcing the ACC Network, and the conference's move from 18 to 20 league men's basketball games, effective in 2019, Swofford did not mention any football scheduling changes. But in a one-on-one interview later that day, I asked him specifically about nine league football games.



Swofford outlined the pros and cons, acknowledged the Notre Dame issue and noted that the ACC champion, FSU in 2014 and Clemson last year, had qualified for the College Football Playoff under the eight-game format.



"So do we want to mess with that, at the top end so to speak?" he said.

But when pressed for his opinion, Swofford said: "I probably lean a little toward nine simply because if you're in this chair, you like to see your teams playing each other more rather than less, because I think that's how you build the brand.



"And it's always been a fairly close vote, and you just never know when a school or two or three are going to change their minds."



