The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons have scheduled a non-conference home-and-home football series for the 2019 and 2021 seasons, the two schools announced today.
Yes, you read that right. UNC and Wake are going to play a home-and-home series that will count as non-conference games rather than ACC games. According to the release by UNC, it’s the first time two Power Five schools have agreed to play a series “originally scheduled as non-conference games.”
“This is a unique opportunity to play a regional rival in years that fall outside the normal conference rotation,” said UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham. “We have a long history with Wake Forest that has historical value and will generate interest within our fans.”
In the first game of the series, North Carolina will travel to face Wake Forest at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem on Sept. 14, 2019. The Tar Heels will then host the Demon Deacons on Sept. 25, 2021 at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill to conclude the series.
UNC and Wake have met 105 times in a series that began back in 1888. The two schools met each season from 1944 through 2004. But due to ACC expansion, the two in-state rivals have only played four times since then.
North Carolina hosts Wake Forest this coming season, but then doesn’t travel to face the Deacons until 2022.
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