Big 12 Commissioner Labels Notre Dame Remarks Following CFP Snub as ‘Totally Out of Bounds’
During a strong statement, Big 12 Conference commissioner stated that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “entirely out of bounds” for public comments concerning the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Source of the Dispute
Notre Dame maintains a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a participating member in other sports. The AD has claimed that the ACC actively damaged Notre Dame’s bid to make 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 bring tremendous football value to the ACC, and we couldn't comprehend why you would make an effort to try to undermine us in this selection,” Bevacqua stated.
The Hurricanes eventually received the CFP berth over Notre Dame, mostly due to winning the head-to-head matchup between the two schools. Bevacqua also claimed that the ACC ran a targeted social media push over several weeks demonstrating its preference for Miami.
A Strong Rebuke
Later on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner addressed the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“I think his conduct has been out of line,” Yormark commented. “He is completely out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the same room, I’d tell him the same thing.”
This public criticism is especially significant given Bevacqua’s prominent standing. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the interests of football independent Notre Dame.
Past Context and Future Moves
The commissioner further remarked the support the ACC provided Notre Dame in the Covid-affected 2020 season, giving the Irish a full ACC schedule and a place in its title game.
“It has been egregious,” Yormark said again. “It’s been unacceptable going after the ACC commissioner, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”
Rumors had circulated about Notre Dame potentially splitting with the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. However, Yormark's public reprimand on Tuesday appear to make such a scenario unlikely in the near term.
The Irish, who made the CFP final last season, have stated they will decline a bowl game after failing to qualify this year.