ACC Tournament Moving Championship To Saturday

The ACC announced on Tuesday that it will be moving the championship game of the men’s basketball tournament back one day to Saturday for the upcoming season.

The tournament championship game had been played on a Sunday afternoon for the last 27 years, but in moving the game to Saturday, the ACC will be getting back to its roots somewhat.

For the first 28 years, the tournament championship was played on a Saturday night.

After discussions with ESPN, a decision was reached to have the game on Saturday night again, and in prime time. This season’s game will be televised starting at 8:30. Semifinal games will be held on Friday night, also in prime time, with scheduled start times of 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

“The Sunday championship game worked tremendously well for more than three decades, but I believe our schools, teams and our fans will be excited about crowning a champion on Saturday night,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. “This will be a win-win for everyone involved – players, coaches, fans – and we greatly appreciate our television partners, ESPN and the ACC Network, working with us to make this happen.”

With the change in day for the championship game, it means a few other minor tweaks were made to the upcoming season schedule.

The last games of the regular season will now be played on the Saturday before the tournament begins after previously being held on Sundays.

And, the tournament will begin now on Tuesday instead of Wednesday.

The tournament games will be played in Greensboro, NC this season before movie north for the seasons to come. Washington D.C. will host the tournament for the 2016 season, and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY for 2017 and 2018.