The Clemson Tigers will face the East Carolina Pirates in a scheduled non-conference game in 2029, the school announced earlier this week.
The Tigers are scheduled to play three of their four non-conference games this season, hosting the Pirates at home, taking on Georgia and traveling to South Carolina, while Clemson will likely fill out its schedule with an FCS opponent yet to be determined.
ECU and Clemson have never played against each other in football. The Greenville, North Carolina-based school is a member of the American Athletic Conference.
Like many other programs, the Tigers schedule non-conference games far in advance — in fact, their four non-conference games are fully booked through 2028, not including the required FBS games in 2027.
That doesn't mean the situation won't change, though. Clemson is currently in litigation with the ACC, and many believe that if they win, the Tigers will leave the conference and move to another league. Depending on which league the Tigers join, they may be forced to reschedule their non-conference schedule.
A regular feature for Clemson is its in-state rivalry game against South Carolina, which is scheduled until 2037.
Other notable non-conference agreements include SEC powerhouse Georgia; the Tigers and Bulldogs have home-and-home agreements in 2029-30 and 2032-33. New SEC member Oklahoma has a home-and-home agreement with Clemson in 2035 and 2036. LSU and Clemson will play home-and-home in 2025-26.
Clemson and Notre Dame will also have a cadence of playing non-conference opponents, even though the Tigers and Fighting Irish play in ACC football. Those games will be a home-and-home in 2027-28, a home game in 2031, an away game in 2034 and a home game in 2037.
Clemson and Georgia will meet on August 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in the season opener for both teams.
The Tigers will then play three consecutive home games against Appalachian State on Sept. 7, North Carolina State on Sept. 21 and Stanford on Sept. 28. The game against the Cardinals will be their ACC opener.
In October, the Tigers will take on the defending ACC champion Florida State on Oct. 5 in Tallahassee, Fla., before traveling to Wake Forest on Oct. 12 and hosting Virginia on Oct. 19.
In November, Clemson will host Louisville on Nov. 2, visit Virginia Tech on Nov. 9 and the University of Pittsburgh on Nov. 16, host The Citadel on Nov. 23 and close the regular season at home against the University of South Carolina on Nov. 30.
Clemson is looking to return to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020.
