ACC Announces 12-Year Deal With The Orange Bowl

The ACC has just announced a 12-year deal with the Orange Bowl on Tuesday, according to Mark Giannotto of the Washington Post. The deal is part of the new postseason format that will be adopted for the 2014-15 season. That year, there will be a four-team playoff with six bowl games expected to rotate as host games for the semifinals.

The deal should wind up as a possible windfall for the ACC. If the Orange Bowl is one of the games in the semifinals, the ACC team will still play in a BCS game if the conference champion is not one of the four teams in the semifinals. If the Orange Bowl is not in the semifinals and an ACC school is one of the four teams in the semifinals, a replacement ACC team will play in the game. In addition, with the conference now owning the broadcasting rights, there could be an even bigger payday for the ACC if the conference decides to go to the marketplace with the broadcasting rights.

The game has also been formally announced to take place on New Year's Day at 1 p.m. starting in 2014-15. This should make it easier for schools to sell their allotment of Orange Bowl tickets.