Big 12 Chief Calls Notre Dame Remarks After CFP Snub as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
In a public criticism, Big 12 chief stated that Notre Dame's AD, Pete Bevacqua, was “entirely out of bounds” for his remarks targeting the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Dispute
The Fighting Irish maintains a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a participating member in other sports. The AD has claimed that the ACC harmed Notre Dame’s bid to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the inclusion of the University of Miami.
“The ACC does wonderful 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 undermine us in this selection,” Bevacqua said.
Miami ultimately earned the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, mostly due to winning the head-to-head matchup between the two programs. Bevacqua also claimed that the ACC engaged in a coordinated social media push over several weeks demonstrating its support for Miami.
An Egregious Response
Later on Tuesday, Yormark addressed the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“In my view his conduct has been egregious,” the commissioner commented. “He is completely out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the same room, I’d say to him the same thing.”
This public pushback is especially notable given Bevacqua’s prominent standing. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the concerns of independent Notre Dame.
Past Support and Speculative Moves
The commissioner also highlighted the assistance the ACC provided Notre Dame during the Covid-affected 2020 season, giving the Irish a full ACC schedule and a berth in its championship game.
“His behavior has been egregious,” he reiterated. “It’s been unacceptable attacking Jim Phillips, when they rescued Notre Dame during Covid...”
Talk had circulated about Notre Dame potentially splitting with the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. Yet, Yormark's strong reprimand on Tuesday appear to make such a scenario less likely in the immediate future.
The Irish, who made the CFP final last season, have stated they are declining a bowl game after missing out this season.
