MIAMI (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference has agreed to a 12-year deal with ESPN for the rights to televise the Orange Bowl, with the conference champion facing either Notre Dame or a team from the Big Ten or SEC.
The deal announced Thursday begins in January 2015 and runs through 2026. ESPN.com has previously reported that the network will play about $55 million per year for the game.
Under the new deal, the Orange Bowl will be played either Dec. 31 or Jan. 1.
Also Thursday, Bill Hancock was hired by the conference commissioners and university presidents to be the executive director of the playoff system that starts in 2014. Hancock has been executive director of the Bowl Championship Series the past three years.
