NC State and Virginia are set to open the 2026 college football season in Brazil

North Carolina State's Caden Fordham (1) celebrates after a sack of North Carolina quarterback Gio Lopez (not shown) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State and Virginia will open next season in Brazil, becoming the first college football game played in South America.

The game will be played Aug. 29, 2026, in Rio de Janeiro, according to an announcement from the schools, organizers and the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Brazil game, first reported by Pack Pride in November, will count as a league game.

The teams had agreed to a home-and-home nonconference series that wouldn’t count in the ACC standings since games were added outside the league scheduling model. The Wolfpack won this year’s matchup in September. The Brazil game would replace the Cavaliers’ home game that was set for next year, though now it’s been integrated into the league slate as the ACC moves to a nine-game schedule.

Virginia athletic director Carla WIlliams said the game would allow her school to “expand our international presence,” while N.C. State AD Boo Corrigan said it would also allow the schools to “bring American football to another continent.”

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