My understanding has always been that the ACC-B1G Challenge's schedule was determined by several factors. The first is the projected order of finish for the upcoming season as determined by the coaches (I think). Since the order of these predictions doesn't change radically from year to year, the same teams are often paired together. The second factor is that no team has to play on the road for more than two consecutive years. Also, a school can request a change for extenuating circumstances, and, if there are teams which are participating in early season tournaments together, they won't play each other. It has been suggested by some that ESPN insists on certain matchups to increase ratings. I am a bit skeptical of this since the process creates some pretty appealing contests all on its own. Typically, the biggest complaints come from the mid tier teams, of both conferences, who want an upper tier team (or, more likely, a traditional power) to play in their arena. Last year, you may recall, Minnesota fans were upset. They thought Duke should have been visiting them, and they had no idea how good Miami would be.
