Big 12 Commissioner Labels Notre Dame Comments Following CFP Snub as ‘Totally Out of Bounds’
At a public rebuke, Big 12 Conference commissioner declared that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “completely out of bounds” for his comments about the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Tension
Notre Dame maintains a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a full member in other sports. The AD has contended that the ACC actively damaged Notre Dame’s chances to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to campaigning for the selection of the University of Miami.
“The ACC do wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we bring substantial 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 process,” the athletic director stated.
The Hurricanes eventually earned the CFP berth over Notre Dame, largely due to securing the direct meeting between the two schools. Bevacqua also claimed that the ACC ran a targeted social media effort over multiple weeks showing its preference for Miami.
A Strong Rebuke
Subsequently on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner responded to the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“I think his actions has been egregious,” Yormark commented. “He is completely out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the room, I’d tell him the same thing.”
The pushback is particularly striking given Bevacqua’s special position. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, advocating for the concerns of independent Notre Dame.
Historical Support and Speculative Rumors
Yormark also remarked 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,” he reiterated. “It’s been unacceptable criticizing the ACC commissioner, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”
Talk had circulated about Notre Dame possibly leaving the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. However, Yormark's strong reprimand on Tuesday seem to make such a scenario highly improbable in the near term.
Notre Dame, who made the CFP championship game last season, have announced they will decline a postseason invitation after failing to qualify this season.
