Big 12 Conference Commissioner Calls Notre Dame Comments After CFP Omission as ‘Totally Out of Bounds’

In a strong criticism, Big 12 chief stated that Notre Dame's AD, Pete Bevacqua, was “totally out of bounds” for public comments about the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Root of the Controversy

The Fighting Irish maintains a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. The AD has contended that the ACC actively damaged Notre Dame’s bid to make the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the inclusion of the University of Miami.

“The ACC does wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we offer significant football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would make an effort to try to undermine us in this procedure,” Bevacqua stated.

The Hurricanes eventually received the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, primarily due to winning the direct matchup between the two teams. Bevacqua also claimed that the ACC conducted a targeted social media effort over multiple weeks demonstrating its preference for Miami.

An Egregious Response

Subsequently on Tuesday, Yormark responded to the comments at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.

“I think his conduct has been egregious,” Yormark commented. “He is totally out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the room, I’d say to him the same thing.”

The criticism is particularly significant given Bevacqua’s special standing. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the concerns of football independent Notre Dame.

Past Support and Future Moves

The commissioner also highlighted the support the ACC offered Notre Dame during the Covid-affected 2020 season, giving the Irish a full conference schedule and a place in its title game.

“It has been unacceptable,” he reiterated. “It’s been egregious going after the ACC commissioner, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”

Talk had spread about Notre Dame potentially splitting with the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. Yet, Yormark's strong comments on Tuesday seem to make such a partnership highly improbable in the immediate future.

Notre Dame, who made the CFP final last season, have stated they plan to decline a bowl game after missing out this year.