Big 12 Chief Labels Notre Dame Remarks Following CFP Omission as ‘Totally Out of Bounds’
During a public criticism, Big 12 Conference commissioner asserted that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “entirely out of bounds” for recent criticisms about the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Root of the Dispute
Notre Dame maintains a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a participating member in other sports. Bevacqua has argued that the ACC actively damaged Notre Dame’s bid to enter the College Football Playoff, instead campaigning for the spot of the University of Miami.
“They do wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we offer 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 procedure,” Bevacqua remarked.
The Hurricanes eventually received the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, mostly due to winning the direct contest between the two programs. Bevacqua additionally stated that the ACC conducted a coordinated social media campaign over multiple weeks indicating its preference for Miami.
A Strong Reaction
Later on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner spoke about the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“My opinion is that his conduct has been out of line,” the commissioner said. “He is completely out of bounds in his method and if he was in the room, I’d say to him the same thing.”
This public pushback is especially significant given Bevacqua’s special standing. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the concerns of football independent Notre Dame.
Past Support and Future Moves
The commissioner also pointed out the assistance the ACC gave Notre Dame during the Covid-affected 2020 season, giving the Irish a complete conference schedule and a berth in its title game.
“It has been egregious,” he said again. “It’s been egregious criticizing the ACC commissioner, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”
Talk had spread about Notre Dame possibly splitting with the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. Yet, Yormark's public comments on Tuesday seem to make such a scenario highly improbable in the immediate future.
The Irish, who reached the CFP championship game last season, have announced they will decline a bowl game after missing out this year.
