Big 12 Conference Commissioner Calls Notre Dame Comments After CFP Omission as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
At a public statement, Brett Yormark stated that Notre Dame athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “completely out of bounds” for his comments concerning the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Dispute
Notre Dame has a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a participating member in other sports. Bevacqua has contended that the ACC hurt Notre Dame’s chances to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the selection of the University of Miami.
“The ACC do great 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 undermine us in this process,” the athletic director stated.
The Hurricanes eventually received the CFP berth over Notre Dame, primarily due to winning the head-to-head meeting between the two schools. Notre Dame's AD further alleged that the ACC ran a targeted social media push over several weeks demonstrating its support for Miami.
An Egregious Response
Later on Tuesday, Yormark addressed the allegations at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“I think his behavior has been egregious,” the commissioner commented. “He is completely out of bounds in his method and if he was in the room, I’d tell him the same thing.”
This public pushback is especially significant given Bevacqua’s special standing. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the concerns of football independent Notre Dame.
Past Support and Future Rumors
Yormark also pointed out the support the ACC offered Notre Dame during the Covid-affected 2020 season, giving the Irish a full ACC schedule and a berth in its title game.
“His behavior has been egregious,” Yormark said again. “It’s been egregious criticizing 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. Yet, Yormark's public reprimand on Tuesday appear to make such a scenario less likely in the near term.
Notre Dame, who made the CFP final last season, have indicated they plan to decline a bowl game after missing out this year.
