Big 12 commissioner says Notre Dame comments after CFP snub ‘totally out of bounds’

Big 12 Conference commissioner Brett Yormark said Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua was “totally out of bounds” for his comments on the Atlantic Coast Conference this week.

Notre Dame have a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and are a full member of the conference in other sports. Bevacqua has claimed the ACC damaged Notre Dame‘s chances at making the College Football Playoff, instead campaigning for Miami’s inclusion.

Miami made the CFP over the Fighting Irish, mostly because the Hurricanes won the teams’ head-to-head meeting. Bevacqua claimed that the ACC engaged in a targeted social media campaign over multiple weeks showing it favored Miami’s inclusion in the field over Notre Dame.

“The ACC does wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we bring tremendous 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 process,” Bevacqua said on Tuesday.

Later Tuesday, Yormark appeared at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum and addressed Bevacqua’s criticism.

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

The public pushback is notable given Bevacqua’s unique standing as Notre Dame‘s AD. For example, Bevacqua sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the 10 FBS conference commissioners, representing the interests of football independent Notre Dame.

Rumors have also spread about Notre Dame’s next moves if they want to split with the ACC, which included partnering up with the Big 12. That looks less likely after Yormark took Bevacqua to task on Tuesday. Yormark pointed out that the ACC gave Notre Dame a lifeline during the Covid-affected 2020 season by giving the Irish a full 10-game conference slate and a berth in its championship game against Clemson.

“His behavior has been egregious,” Yormark said. “It’s been egregious going after Jim Phillips, when they saved Notre Dame during Covid ... The chair said that as Notre Dame and Miami got closer together, head to head would be a factor, OK?”

Notre Dame reached the final of the CFP last season but say they will decline a bowl game after missing out this year.