Why college football’s Week 0 exists - and why it’s about to change
The New York Times • • sports
Key Points:
- College Football Week 0 features eight FBS games played a week before the traditional season start, including an international matchup between UNC and TCU in Dublin, Ireland.
- Week 0 games occur due to exceptions like foreign competition, the Hawaii exception, or NCAA waivers, allowing teams to start early under specific conditions.
- UNC and TCU’s game in Ireland is part of a long-planned event leveraging the foreign-competition exception, offering unique exposure and a rare noon ET kickoff with little competition.
- The planned NC State-Virginia game in Brazil was relocated to Virginia due to logistical issues, forcing the teams to obtain a waiver after losing the foreign-competition exception.
- Starting in 2027, Week 0 will be eliminated as all FBS teams will begin within a standardized 14-week window, simplifying scheduling and removing early start exceptions.
