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Vanderbilt will not return to Raleigh in 2028 to complete the scheduled home-and-home college football series, school official confirmed Wednesday night, citing conference scheduling changes.
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“After the SEC decided to move to a nine-game conference schedule, we contacted N.C. State in an effort to move our 2028 game,” the university said in a statement. “We have not been able to find a mutually agreeable date to reschedule and will not play N.C. State in 2028.”
The Wolfpack was set to host Vanderbilt on Sept. 16, 2028, at Carter-Finely Stadium. The Commodores replaced the Pack with Virginia.
Vanderbilt must pay N.C. State $1 million for the cancellation, according to the original game contract.
“It’s fine,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said on Thursday. “All of our conferences are going from eight to nine conference games, it seems like. We’re having to adjust on our side with some teams. They’re having to adjust. We understand.”
The teams are scheduled to play at Vanderbilt on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. in a nonconference matchup.
This is not the first time a nonconference game has been dumped — either by N.C. State or its opponent — due to the new nine-game conference scheduling model across the Power Four conferences.
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N.C. State and Georgia canceled their nonconference series in December, citing the scheduling changes.
The Wolfpack and Bulldogs mutually agreed to cancel the series. UGA was set to host N.C. State in Athens, Georgia, on Sept. 17, 2033, before making a trip to Raleigh on Sept. 16, 2034.
N.C. State’s contract, signed with Georgia in 2021, stipulated that the Bulldogs would owe $2 million for canceling the games “unless cancellation of the game is by mutual consent of the parties.”
Florida and N.C. State agreed in 2024 to cancel their series, planned for 2026 and 2032.
The ACC moved to a nine-game conference schedule this season. It has 17 members in football. Commissioner Jim Phillips was originally concerned about how the league would handle the change, because it’s not possible for an odd number of teams to play an odd number of games. Ultimately, the conference decided teams that who do not play nine ACC games are required to schedule a Power Four nonconference opponent in its place.
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This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 11:24 AM.