The No. 1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish are looking to bring another national championship back to South Bend, but before the NCAA Tournament comes around — the Irish have a big challenge with the ACC Tournament, which starts on Friday.
WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO WATCH
When: Friday, May 1 and Sunday, May 3
Where: American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
How to Watch: ACC Network
From the ACC:
2026 Allstate ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship Starts Friday in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Featuring four top-10 teams, the 2026 Allstate ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship will be played Friday, May 1, and Sunday, May 3, at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The semifinals will be held Friday, with the top-seeded Fighting Irish (10-1, 3-1 ACC) opening the tournament against No. 4 seed Virginia (8-6, 2-2) at 5 p.m. ET. The Cavaliers handed Notre Dame its lone ACC loss in 2026, winning the regular-season meeting, 11-9, on March 28 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The Friday nightcap features No. 2 seed North Carolina (11-3, 2-2) facing No. 3 seed Syracuse (11-4, 2-2). UNC topped the Orange, 14-9, on April 4 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Each of the four teams in the tournament are ranked in the top 10 of the latest Inside Lacrosse poll, with No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Syracuse and No. 8 Virginia. Syracuse is the reigning tournament champion after claiming the 2025 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship in Charlotte.
In the NCAA’s latest RPI, the four ACC tournament teams all stand among the top 10: Notre Dame (1), North Carolina (3), Syracuse (5) and Virginia (9).
Individual Session tickets for the ACC Championship are available online HERE. One ticket gains admission for all of the games on that respective day. Anyone 5 years and older requires a ticket for entry. All tickets are General Admission.
Bring a group of 10 or more to take advantage of preferred group pricing and special Group Experiences. For more information, please email tickets@theacc.org.
2026 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship
Friday, May 1
No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 4 Virginia | 5 p.m. | ACCN
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Syracuse | 8 p.m. | ACCN
Sunday, May 3
Championship Game | Noon | ACCN
All times Eastern.
Noting the ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship
• This is the 34th ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship. The tournament was contested from 1989 to 2019 and returned in 2024. It is being contested in Charlotte for the third straight year and is scheduled to be held in the Queen City through 2028.
• Each school’s last ACC tournament title: Syracuse (2025), Notre Dame (2024), Virginia (2019), North Carolina (2017), Duke (2012).
• Notre Dame is the tournament’s top seed for the fourth time and third straight season (2015, 2024, 2025). Syracuse downed Duke, 9-8, to win the 2025 title.
• Virginia leads all active ACC programs with 19 ACC Championships. North Carolina tops all ACC schools with nine tournament titles.
Noting ACC Men’s Lacrosse
• Notre Dame won the outright ACC regular-season title, earning a share of its third straight crown.
• The 2026 All-ACC Team and Season Awards were unveiled Tuesday. Syracuse’s Joey Spallina was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year, while North Carolina’s Brady Wambach and Notre Dame’s Shawn Lyght shared Defensive Player of the Year honors. Notre Dame’s Thomas Ricciardelli claimed Goalie of the Year honors, while Fighting Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan was selected Coach of the Year. Virginia’s Brendan Millon was tabbed the ACC Freshman of the Year. (Release)
• Virginia senior attackman Truitt Sunderland claimed ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors, and Duke senior defenseman Charlie Johnson earned Defensive Player of the Week recognition for games played from April 20-26.
• All five ACC teams are ranked in the latest USILA Coaches poll, with Notre Dame at No. 1, North Carolina at No. 5, Syracuse at No. 6, Virginia at No. 8 and Duke at No. 12.
• In the NCAA Division I Selection Committee’s Top 10 reveal on Saturday, April 18, four ACC teams were among the top 10: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Syracuse and No. 10 Virginia.
• In the latest RPI (as of Thursday), all five ACC teams stand among the top 10: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 5 Syracuse, No. 8 Duke and No. 9 Virginia.
• ACC teams have combined to go 39-8 (83.0%) in non-conference play this season, which is by far the best mark of any conference.
• The five ACC programs each rank among the top 15 nationally in scoring offense this week: No. 3 Duke (14.7), No. 8 Virginia (14.1), No. 9 North Carolina (14.0), No. 13 Syracuse (13.1) and No. 15 Notre Dame (13.0).
• Four ACC teams are among the top 20 teams nationally in scoring defense: No. 3 Notre Dame (8.3/goals per game), No. 7 Duke (8.7) and No. 17 UNC (9.9).
• Nine ACC players have been nominated for the 2026 Tewaaraton Award. That is the most of any conference.
• Syracuse’s Joey Spallina currently owns 312 career points, which currently is fourth in ACC history. He needs 11 points to match No. 3 Connor Shellenberger from Virginia.
ACC History
• Duke’s John Danowski (first, 493), ND’s Kevin Corrigan (second, 380) and UNC’s Joe Breschi (third, 272) own the most Division I wins among active D-I head coaches (minimum five years at D-I). Virginia’s Lars Tiffany is seventh with 219. Danowski is the winningest Division I head coach all-time.
• The University of Virginia will serve as the host of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships, which will be contested at Scott Stadium from May 23-25.
• The ACC owns 19 NCAA Championships, including four of the last six with Virginia in 2019 and 2021 and Notre Dame in 2023 and 2024.
• The five active ACC teams have combined for 27 national championships, including 11 of the last 17.
• Syracuse owns 10 NCAA titles (most of any NCAA program), while Virginia has won seven, UNC five, Duke three and Notre Dame two.
• Syracuse advanced to NCAA Championship Weekend last season for the first time since 2013 and its first time as a member of the ACC.
• At least one ACC team has advanced to the national semifinals in 50 of the 54 years in which the NCAA Tournament has been contested.
