Big 12 Commissioner Labels Notre Dame Comments After CFP Omission as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
In a strong rebuke, Brett Yormark asserted that Notre Dame athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “completely out of bounds” for public comments targeting the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Tension
Notre Dame maintains a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. The AD has contended that the ACC harmed Notre Dame’s bid to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the selection of the University of Miami.
“The ACC do wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we provide tremendous football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would go out of your way to try to hurt us in this selection,” Bevacqua remarked.
Miami ultimately secured the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, largely due to winning the head-to-head meeting between the two programs. Notre Dame's AD additionally stated that the ACC ran a coordinated social media campaign over several weeks indicating its preference for Miami.
A Strong Response
Later on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner spoke about the allegations at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“My opinion is that his behavior has been egregious,” Yormark stated. “He is totally out of bounds in his method and if he was in the same room, I’d tell him the same thing.”
The criticism is particularly striking given Bevacqua’s prominent role. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, advocating for the interests of independent Notre Dame.
Historical Support and Future Rumors
Yormark also remarked the support the ACC provided Notre Dame during the Covid-affected 2020 season, giving the Irish a complete conference schedule and a berth in its championship game.
“His behavior has been egregious,” Yormark said again. “It’s been egregious criticizing Jim Phillips, when they saved Notre Dame during Covid...”
Talk had spread about Notre Dame potentially leaving the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. However, Yormark's strong comments on Tuesday seem to make such a move less likely in the immediate future.
Notre Dame, who made the CFP final last season, have indicated they are declining a postseason invitation after failing to qualify this season.
