Big 12 Commissioner Calls Notre Dame Remarks After CFP Snub as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’
At a strong rebuke, Brett Yormark declared that Notre Dame's AD, Pete Bevacqua, was “entirely out of bounds” for his criticisms targeting the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Controversy
The Fighting Irish has a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a participating member in other sports. The AD has claimed that the ACC hurt Notre Dame’s bid to qualify for the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to campaigning for the inclusion of the University of Miami.
“The ACC does great things for Notre Dame, but we bring 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,” the athletic director stated.
The Hurricanes eventually secured the CFP berth over Notre Dame, largely due to winning the direct contest between the two programs. Bevacqua additionally stated that the ACC conducted a coordinated social media campaign over several weeks indicating its preference for Miami.
A Strong Reaction
Subsequently on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner responded to the allegations at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“In my view his actions has been out of line,” Yormark stated. “He is totally out of bounds in his tactics and if he was in the same room, I’d tell him the same thing.”
This public pushback is particularly notable given Bevacqua’s special role. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, advocating for the interests of independent Notre Dame.
Historical Support and Speculative Rumors
The commissioner also highlighted the assistance the ACC gave Notre Dame in the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season, giving the Irish a full conference schedule and a place in its championship game.
“His behavior has been egregious,” Yormark said again. “It’s been unacceptable attacking the ACC commissioner, when they rescued Notre Dame during Covid...”
Rumors had spread about Notre Dame possibly leaving the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. Yet, Yormark's strong reprimand on Tuesday seem to make such a move highly improbable in the near term.
Notre Dame, who reached the CFP final last season, have stated they are declining a postseason invitation after failing to qualify this year.
