CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Atlantic Coast Conference members North Carolina and Wake Forest have agreed to a home-and-home nonconference football series in 2019 and 2021. Carolina will play in Winston-Salem on September 14, 2019 and will then play host to the Demon Deacons on September 25, 2021.
This is the first time two members of a Power 5 conference have agreed to play each other in a football series originally scheduled as nonconference games. The results will not factor into the ACC standings.
“This is a unique opportunity to play a regional rival in years that fall outside the normal conference rotation,” UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said. “We have a long history with Wake Forest that has historical value and will generate interest within our fans.”
Although the two schools no longer meet on an annual basis, the Carolina-Wake Forest rivalry is the third-oldest rivalry in the ACC with 105 previous meetings. Carolina leads the series, 68-35-2. The two institutions met on the gridiron every year from 1944-2004 but have met just four times since. In the most recent meeting, Wake Forest held on for a narrow 28-27 victory in 2012.
Carolina and Wake Forest are slated to play conference games in 2015 in Kenan Stadium and 2022 in Winston-Salem.