North Carolina, South Carolina cancel home and home series in 2028, 2029

Another prominent college football home-and-home series has been canceled. Now between two Carolina schools.

A planned home-and-home between rivals North Carolina and South Carolina has been canned, North Carolina Athletics announced on Friday. The 2028 game was scheduled to take place in Columbia, while the 2029 game was slated for Chapel Hill. The two programs have not met since 2023.

The SEC and ACC’s move to nine conference games has been a major catalyst for many high-profile non-conference games being canceled. While all SEC games will play nine conference games this season, North Carolina is one of five ACC teams that will remain at eight conference games in the ‘transition’ year.

Some of the prominent canceled home-and-home series that have been canceled in the past six months include Georgia–Louisville, Georgia–Florida State, Alabama–Oklahoma State, and Miami–South Carolina.

North Carolina and South Carolina are both coming off extremely disappointing seasons. Both the Tar Heels and Gamecocks were 4-8 in 2025 and are seeking bounce-back campaigns in 2026. For North Carolina, the season will come down to whether or not Bill Belichick can truly work out in the sport of college football. For South Carolina, success will be defined by whether or not Shane Beamer can return the Gamecocks to their peak in 2024.

Last meeting between North Carolina and South Carolina came in 2023

The last meeting between North Carolina and South Carolina came on Sept. 2 in the Duke’s Mayo Classic. That game featured a matchup between two future NFL quarterbacks in Drake Maye and Spencer Rattler. While Rattler got the better of Maye, the Tar Heels came out on top with a 31-17 victory. Maye, the future NFL star, passed for 269 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Rattler, now a backup on the New Orleans Saints, passed for 353 yards in the loss.

“It’s just frustrating, because we had our chances,” started South Carolina coach Shane Beamer following that loss. “Defensively, in the first half, we were out there way too many plays. Third down, we couldn’t get ourselves off the field, defensively. So, therefore, I think they played 40 plays in the first half, and we were out there for 20, because we couldn’t stay on the field. The start of the game was like the perfect storm of everything that couldn’t go wrong, went wrong.

“We knew we were thin in the secondary. … We’re young and thin at offensive tackle. … We battled back. Gave ourselves chances. But not good enough. … Clock was wrong the whole dang game. We’re trying to kick an onside kick to start the second half and we’ve got to wait on the chain crew because they’re eating a hot dog. That’s the only disappointing thing about tonight. 

“I don’t know what things came out to be statistically, but not good enough. Had our chances.”