Big 12 Conference Commissioner Labels Notre Dame Comments After CFP Omission as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
At a strong statement, Brett Yormark declared that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “entirely out of bounds” for his comments about the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Root of the Controversy
Notre Dame has a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a full member in other sports. Bevacqua has argued that the ACC actively damaged Notre Dame’s bid to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the selection of the University of Miami.
“They does great things for Notre Dame, but we provide substantial football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would make an effort to try to undermine us in this procedure,” Bevacqua said.
The Hurricanes ultimately received the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, largely due to winning the head-to-head contest between the two schools. Notre Dame's AD additionally stated that the ACC ran a coordinated social media campaign over several weeks indicating its preference for Miami.
A Strong Reaction
Subsequently on Tuesday, Yormark spoke about the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“My opinion is that his actions has been egregious,” the commissioner commented. “He is totally out of bounds in his tactics and if he was in the room, I’d say to him the same thing.”
The pushback is especially striking given Bevacqua’s unique position. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the concerns of football independent Notre Dame.
Historical Support and Future Rumors
Yormark also highlighted the lifeline the ACC provided Notre Dame during the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season, giving the Irish a complete ACC schedule and a place in its championship game.
“It has been unacceptable,” Yormark said again. “It’s been egregious going after the ACC commissioner, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”
Speculation had circulated about Notre Dame potentially splitting with the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. Yet, the commissioner's public comments on Tuesday seem to make such a partnership highly improbable in the immediate future.
Notre Dame, who made the CFP final last season, have announced they plan to decline a postseason invitation after missing out this year.
