Big 12 Commissioner Calls Notre Dame Comments After CFP Snub as ‘Totally Out of Bounds’
During a public rebuke, Big 12 Conference commissioner asserted that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “totally out of bounds” for recent remarks about the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Root of the Controversy
The Fighting Irish has a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a full member in all other sports. Bevacqua has claimed that the ACC harmed Notre Dame’s chances to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to pushing for the selection of the University of Miami.
“They 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 damage us in this selection,” the athletic director said.
The Hurricanes eventually secured the CFP berth over Notre Dame, largely due to securing the direct meeting between the two teams. Bevacqua additionally stated that the ACC ran a targeted social media campaign over multiple weeks showing its preference for Miami.
A Strong Reaction
Subsequently on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner addressed the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“My opinion is that his conduct has been egregious,” the commissioner commented. “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 especially striking given Bevacqua’s prominent position. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the concerns of independent Notre Dame.
Past Context and Future Moves
Yormark also remarked the support the ACC gave Notre Dame in the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season, giving the Irish a full ACC schedule and a berth in its title game.
“His behavior has been egregious,” Yormark said again. “It’s been egregious criticizing the ACC commissioner, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”
Talk had spread about Notre Dame potentially leaving the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. Yet, Yormark's strong comments on Tuesday seem to make such a move unlikely in the immediate future.
The Irish, who reached the CFP championship game last season, have announced they plan to decline a bowl game after missing out this season.
