Big 12 Chief Calls Notre Dame Comments After CFP Omission as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
At a public criticism, Big 12 chief declared that Notre Dame athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “completely out of bounds” for his remarks about the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Root of the Dispute
The Fighting Irish maintains a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a full member in all other sports. Bevacqua has contended that the ACC hurt Notre Dame’s opportunities to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to campaigning for the selection of the University of Miami.
“The ACC do great things for Notre Dame, but we offer tremendous football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would go out of your way to try to hurt us in this procedure,” the athletic director remarked.
The Hurricanes eventually earned the CFP spot over Notre Dame, primarily due to securing the direct matchup between the two programs. Notre Dame's AD also claimed that the ACC ran a targeted social media push over several weeks showing its support for Miami.
A Strong Reaction
Later on Tuesday, Yormark spoke about the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“My opinion is that his behavior has been out of line,” Yormark said. “He is completely out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the room, I’d say to him the same thing.”
This public pushback is particularly notable given Bevacqua’s unique position. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the interests of football independent Notre Dame.
Historical Context and Future Rumors
Yormark further pointed out the lifeline the ACC provided Notre Dame in the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season, providing the Irish a complete conference schedule and a place in its championship game.
“His behavior has been egregious,” Yormark said again. “It’s been egregious attacking the ACC commissioner, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”
Rumors had spread about Notre Dame possibly leaving the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. Yet, the commissioner's strong reprimand on Tuesday appear to make such a move highly improbable in the near term.
Notre Dame, who reached the CFP championship game last season, have indicated they will decline a postseason invitation after failing to qualify this season.
