Despite Tony Elliott and the Virginia Cavaliers having the week off with their second bye week, the program still found a way to make a splash in the college football world. According to a report by Cory Smith of Pack Pride, the ’Hoos have agreed to move their previously scheduled 2026 matchup against NC State from Charlottesville to Brazil.
The matchup will be college football’s first-ever game in Brazil and is scheduled to take place the weekend before Labor Day next season.
The ‘Hoos and Wolfpack initially agreed to a non-conference home-and-home series back in 2024, with 2026 set to be the return game in Charlottesville after this year’s 35-31 loss down in Raleigh. Interestingly, the new date in Brazil will now be counted as an ACC contest, unlike this year’s. The change bumps the ‘Hoos down to six home games for 2026 and adds another neutral site contest to the slate with the ‘Hoos already set to play West Virginia in Charlotte on September 19th.
There’s clear good and bad when it comes to a decision like this. UVA loses out on a previously scheduled home game for next season, which, amid program momentum unseen by UVA fans in quite some time, is a bummer by itself, especially losing the date for recruiting visits. But, with the new trend of college games going overseas in recent seasons and UVA being the home team in this case, a significant financial payout will likely head UVA’s way.
If you think back to the start of the 2025 college football season, Kansas State and Iowa State kicked things off in Ireland, resulting in $2.25 million going to the Wildcats for moving a home game across the pond. Fellow ACC teams have also played in the Dublin game, with North Carolina scheduled to play TCU in the same event in 2026.
With the increasing importance of NIL and the need to stockpile resources in this new-age of college football, this opportunity might have been too good for UVA’s athletic department to pass up, depending on what UVA is set to receive on the backend. Playing a college football game in South America could certainly be a good thing for the program in the long run, as gimmicky as it may sound today.
