Big 12 Chief Calls Notre Dame Comments After CFP Omission as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
At a strong rebuke, Brett Yormark declared that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “completely out of bounds” for his criticisms concerning the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Tension
The Fighting Irish maintains a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. The AD has claimed that the ACC harmed Notre Dame’s chances to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the spot of the University of Miami.
“The ACC does great things for Notre Dame, but we offer tremendous football value to the ACC, and we couldn't comprehend why you would go out of your way to try to undermine us in this process,” Bevacqua said.
The Hurricanes ultimately earned the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, largely due to winning the direct matchup between the two teams. Bevacqua additionally stated that the ACC conducted a coordinated social media push over multiple weeks showing its preference for Miami.
An Egregious Reaction
Subsequently on Tuesday, Yormark spoke about the comments at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“I think his behavior has been egregious,” the commissioner said. “He is completely out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the same room, I’d tell him the same thing.”
This public criticism is particularly striking given Bevacqua’s prominent standing. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the interests of football independent Notre Dame.
Historical Support and Future Moves
The commissioner also remarked the assistance the ACC provided Notre Dame in the Covid-affected 2020 season, giving the Irish a complete ACC schedule and a berth in its title game.
“It has been egregious,” he said again. “It’s been egregious going after the ACC commissioner, when they saved Notre Dame during Covid...”
Rumors had spread about Notre Dame potentially leaving the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. However, Yormark's public reprimand on Tuesday seem to make such a scenario unlikely in the near term.
Notre Dame, who reached the CFP championship game last season, have indicated they plan to decline a bowl game after failing to qualify this year.
