Big 12 Chief Labels Notre Dame Remarks After CFP Omission as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
During a strong criticism, Big 12 Conference commissioner declared that Notre Dame AD, Pete Bevacqua, was “totally out of bounds” for his remarks targeting the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Root of the Dispute
Notre Dame maintains a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. Bevacqua has claimed that the ACC actively damaged Notre Dame’s bid to qualify for the College Football Playoff, instead pushing for the selection of the University of Miami.
“The ACC do great things for Notre Dame, but we provide tremendous football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would make an effort to try to hurt us in this selection,” Bevacqua said.
Miami ultimately secured the CFP berth over Notre Dame, mostly due to winning the head-to-head matchup between the two schools. Bevacqua further alleged that the ACC ran a coordinated social media campaign over several weeks showing its support for Miami.
A Strong Reaction
Later on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner responded to the allegations at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“In my view his behavior has been egregious,” Yormark said. “He is totally out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the same room, I’d say to him the same thing.”
The response is particularly significant given Bevacqua’s special role. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, advocating for the concerns of football independent Notre Dame.
Historical Context and Speculative Rumors
Yormark further highlighted the support the ACC gave 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 egregious,” he said again. “It’s been egregious going after the ACC commissioner, when they rescued Notre Dame during Covid...”
Talk had spread about Notre Dame possibly leaving the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. However, the commissioner's public reprimand on Tuesday seem to make such a move highly improbable in the immediate future.
Notre Dame, who made the CFP championship game last season, have stated they will decline a bowl game after missing out this season.