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The NC State vs. Virginia, which will be held in Brazil as the first college football game played in South America, will relocate to the Cavaliers’ home field after organizers determined the game could not take place in Rio de Janeiro.
Wednesday’s announcement came less than three months before the Wolfpack and Cavaliers opened the season in Rio.
The Atlantic Coast Conference said in a news release that the change comes after an “extensive review with operating partners and international stakeholders,” and the event’s organizer, Athlete Advantage, recently informed the league and schools that the event was unable to move forward as planned in Brazil.
Running back Jayden Scott carries the ball up the middle during the NC State Wolfpack and Virginia game on September 6, 2025 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The game was scheduled for August 29, in Week 0 of the college football calendar. The league and schools are working with television partner ESPN and the NCAA to keep the game on schedule.
The teams had originally agreed to a home-and-home nonconference series that would not count in the ACC standings as the games were added outside of the league’s scheduling model. Longtime league members from neighboring states don’t meet as often because of years of expansion amid waves of national conference realignment.
NC State won last year’s first matchup on that home-and-home plan. The Rio game was scheduled to replace Virginia’s home game in Charlottesville, albeit as part of the league’s schedule as the ACC moves to a nine-game schedule. It will now take place at Scott Stadium in a more traditional setting.
Fans who purchased tickets or travel packages for the event through the official College Football Brasil website will receive refunds.
Associated Press information.
