The NC State Wolfpack vs. Virginia Cavaliers football game in 2026, which was scheduled to be played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been relocated to Charlottesville, Va., according to an official announcement from both schools Wednesday.
Following extensive review with operational partners and international stakeholders, the 2026 NC State at Virginia football game, originally scheduled to be played in Brazil, will be relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia, for this conference matchup.
This change follows communication from Athlete Advantage, which informed the ACC and participating schools that the event could not be conducted.
NC State and Virginia were slated to square off at Nilton Santos Stadium in Rio on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, which is Week Zero this season. Under current NCAA rules, college football games played in foreign countries are eligible to be contested in Week Zero, which is the unofficial name for the Saturday that is one week prior to Labor Day weekend.
According to the joint release, the ACC, NC State and Virginia are “…working with the NCAA and ESPN to confirm the game will remain on the originally scheduled date of Saturday, August 29.” Since the game is now going to be played in the United States, the schools would need a waiver from the NCAA to keep the game in Week Zero.
As it stands now, the NC State-Virginia game is scheduled for a 3:30pm ET kickoff on Aug. 29 with television coverage via ESPN.
The NC State-Virginia matchup next season was scheduled to be the second of a non-conference home-and-home series between the two ACC schools. However, the ACC announced earlier this year that the game will be a conference contest.
FOOTBALL SCHEDULES
OUTSTANDING!!!
Enough outsourcing of football to places that don’t care about the game anyway.
The NFL should do the same.
Ummmmm