Big 12 Conference Commissioner Labels Notre Dame Comments Following CFP Snub as ‘Totally Out of Bounds’
During a strong criticism, Big 12 Conference commissioner asserted that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “completely out of bounds” for recent criticisms targeting 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. Bevacqua has claimed that the ACC harmed Notre Dame’s chances to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the selection of the University of Miami.
“The ACC do great things for Notre Dame, but we offer tremendous football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would make an effort to try to damage us in this procedure,” Bevacqua remarked.
The Hurricanes ultimately secured the CFP spot over Notre Dame, mostly due to winning the head-to-head matchup between the two schools. Bevacqua further alleged that the ACC ran a targeted social media effort over several weeks indicating its preference for Miami.
An Egregious Rebuke
Later on Tuesday, Yormark spoke about the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“I think his actions has been unacceptable,” Yormark stated. “He is completely out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the same room, I’d say to him the same thing.”
The pushback is especially striking given Bevacqua’s special standing. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the interests of independent Notre Dame.
Past Support and Speculative Moves
The commissioner further remarked the support the ACC gave Notre Dame during the Covid-affected 2020 season, providing the Irish a full ACC schedule and a place in its championship game.
“His behavior has been egregious,” Yormark reiterated. “It’s been egregious going after the ACC commissioner, when they saved Notre Dame during Covid...”
Speculation had spread about Notre Dame possibly leaving the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. Yet, Yormark's strong reprimand on Tuesday appear to make such a scenario highly improbable in the immediate future.
The Irish, who made the CFP final last season, have indicated they will decline a postseason invitation after failing to qualify this year.
