Big 12 Chief Labels Notre Dame Comments After CFP Snub as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
In a notable statement, Big 12 Conference commissioner stated that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “entirely out of bounds” for recent comments concerning the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Tension
Notre Dame has a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a full member in all other sports. The AD has argued that the ACC harmed Notre Dame’s bid to enter the College Football Playoff, instead pushing for the selection of the University of Miami.
“They does great things for Notre Dame, but we offer 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 procedure,” Bevacqua stated.
Miami eventually secured the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, largely due to winning the direct matchup between the two programs. Notre Dame's AD additionally stated that the ACC engaged in a targeted social media push over multiple weeks showing its preference for Miami.
A Strong Reaction
Subsequently on Tuesday, Yormark spoke about the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“In my view his actions has been out of line,” the commissioner commented. “He is totally out of bounds in his method and if he was in the room, I’d say to him the same thing.”
This public pushback is especially notable given Bevacqua’s special role. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the concerns of football independent Notre Dame.
Past Support and Speculative Rumors
The commissioner further remarked the support the ACC offered Notre Dame in the Covid-affected 2020 season, giving the Irish a full ACC schedule and a place in its title game.
“His behavior has been unacceptable,” Yormark said again. “It’s been unacceptable attacking Jim Phillips, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”
Talk had circulated about Notre Dame possibly splitting with the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. Yet, Yormark's strong reprimand on Tuesday seem to make such a move highly improbable in the near term.
The Irish, who reached the CFP championship game last season, have indicated they will decline a bowl game after missing out this season.
