Big 12 Commissioner Labels Notre Dame Comments After CFP Omission as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
During a public criticism, Brett Yormark declared that Notre Dame athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “totally out of bounds” for public comments targeting the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Controversy
Notre Dame maintains a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. Bevacqua has argued that the ACC hurt Notre Dame’s opportunities to qualify for the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the inclusion of the University of Miami.
“They 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 damage us in this process,” the athletic director said.
Miami eventually earned 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 ran a coordinated social media push over multiple weeks demonstrating its support for Miami.
An Egregious Reaction
Subsequently on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner addressed the allegations 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 tactics and if he was in the room, I’d tell him the same thing.”
This public criticism is particularly striking given Bevacqua’s prominent standing. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the concerns of independent Notre Dame.
Historical Support and Future Rumors
The commissioner also pointed out the assistance the ACC offered Notre Dame in the Covid-affected 2020 season, providing the Irish a complete conference schedule and a place in its title game.
“It has been egregious,” Yormark said again. “It’s been egregious criticizing the ACC commissioner, when they rescued Notre Dame during Covid...”
Speculation had spread about Notre Dame possibly splitting with the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. However, Yormark's pointed comments on Tuesday seem to make such a scenario highly improbable in the near term.
The Irish, who reached the CFP final last season, have announced they are declining a postseason invitation after failing to qualify this season.
