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

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

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

Miami won the CFP against the Fighting Irish, mainly because the Hurricanes won the teams’ head-to-head matchup. Bevacqua claimed the ACC engaged in a targeted social media campaign for several weeks showing support for Miami’s inclusion on 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 harm us in this process,” Bevacqua said Tuesday.

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

“I think his behavior was egregious,” Yormark said. “He is totally out of touch in his approach and if he were in the room I would say the same thing to him.”

The public pushback is notable given Bevacqua’s unique position as Notre Dame’s AD. For example, Bevacqua serves on the College Football Playoff management committee with all 10 FBS conference commissioners, representing the interests of independent Notre Dame football.

Rumors also spread about Notre Dame’s next moves if they wanted to break away from the ACC, which included partnering with the Big 12. That seems 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 into its championship game against Clemson.

“His behavior was egregious,” Yormark said. “It was blatant to go after Jim Phillips, when they saved Notre Dame during Covid… The president said as Notre Dame and Miami get closer, face-to-face would be a factor, OK?”

Notre Dame reached the CFP final last season but says it will turn down a bowl game after missing out this year.