Big 12 Chief Labels Notre Dame Comments Following CFP Omission as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
During a strong rebuke, Brett Yormark declared that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “entirely out of bounds” for recent criticisms concerning the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Tension
Notre Dame maintains a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. The AD has argued that the ACC actively damaged Notre Dame’s opportunities to qualify for the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to pushing for the spot of the University of Miami.
“The ACC does wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we provide substantial football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would go out of your way to try to damage us in this selection,” the athletic director stated.
Miami ultimately secured the CFP spot over Notre Dame, mostly due to winning the head-to-head meeting between the two programs. Bevacqua also claimed that the ACC ran a targeted social media effort over several weeks showing its support for Miami.
An Egregious Rebuke
Later on Tuesday, Yormark addressed the allegations at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“My opinion is that his actions has been unacceptable,” the commissioner commented. “He is totally out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the room, I’d say to him the same thing.”
This public response is especially notable given Bevacqua’s unique position. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, advocating for the interests of football independent Notre Dame.
Historical Support and Speculative Rumors
The commissioner also highlighted the support the ACC provided Notre Dame in the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season, providing the Irish a complete ACC schedule and a berth in its title game.
“It has been unacceptable,” Yormark said again. “It’s been egregious going after Jim Phillips, when they saved Notre Dame during Covid...”
Talk had spread about Notre Dame potentially leaving the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. Yet, the commissioner's public reprimand on Tuesday seem to make such a scenario less likely in the immediate future.
The Irish, who reached the CFP final last season, have indicated they are declining a bowl game after missing out this season.
