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May 27, 2015

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten announced on Wednesday (May 27) the matchups for the 2015 Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge. Virginia will host Iowa on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at John Paul Jones Arena. The game time will be announced at a later date.

This year’s Challenge will mark the ninth year of the event. All 14 Big Ten teams and all of the ACC teams except Clemson will participate in the 2015 Challenge.

Challenge games will be contested in a two-day format, beginning Wednesday, Dec. 2. Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Virginia will host games on the first day, while Georgia Tech and Syracuse will be on the road. On Dec. 3, Duke and Florida State will host Big Ten foes and Boston College, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech visit their inter-conference foes.

For only the second time in ACC/Big Ten Challenge history, the two storied conferences played to a tie in the 2014 Challenge. The ACC is 6-0-2 all-time in the Challenge with a 54-39 record against the Big Ten in Challenge games. The only other tie in Challenge history occurred in 2011, when each conference won six games. The inaugural Challenge in 2007 saw the ACC collect its all-time high of eight victories.

This is the first time Iowa and Virginia will meet in a Challenge game. Virginia holds a 5-3 mark in Challenge games after falling at Illinois, 86-63, last season.

The Hawkeyes are 2-0 all-time against the Cavaliers. This is the first meeting between the two schools since 2002.

The ACC and Big Ten conference offices determine the schedule each season. In addition, the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2015 event will be referred to as the Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the two conferences’ Challenge agreement for men’s basketball.

The ACC and the Big Ten have long been among the most competitive conferences on the women’s basketball scene. Since 1982, current members of the ACC (20) and the Big Ten (14) have combined for 34 berths in the Final Four and have combined for 420 total appearances in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

2015 Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge game times, as well as broadcast coverage, will be announced at a later date. For more information about the Challenge, including a complete schedule, visit theacc.com.

2015 CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, December 2
Georgia Tech at Indiana
Illinois at Miami
Northwestern at North Carolina
Ohio State at Notre Dame
Syracuse at Maryland
Iowa at Virginia
Wisconsin at Wake Forest

Thursday, December 3
Boston College at Purdue
Minnesota at Duke
Rutgers at Florida State
Louisville at Michigan State
NC State at Nebraska
Pittsburgh at Michigan
Virginia Tech at Penn State

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