🔗 Share this article Big 12 Conference Commissioner Calls Notre Dame Remarks After CFP Omission as ‘Totally Out of Bounds’ During a strong criticism, Brett Yormark asserted that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “entirely 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 hurt Notre Dame’s chances to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to pushing for the selection of the University of Miami. “The ACC does wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we bring substantial football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would make an effort to try to undermine us in this process,” the athletic director stated. Miami eventually earned the CFP berth over Notre Dame, largely due to securing the head-to-head meeting between the two teams. Notre Dame's AD further alleged that the ACC conducted a coordinated social media campaign over multiple weeks demonstrating its preference for Miami. A Strong Reaction Subsequently on Tuesday, Yormark addressed the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum. “In my view his conduct has been egregious,” the commissioner stated. “He is completely out of bounds in his method and if he was in the same room, I’d tell him the same thing.” The pushback is particularly notable given Bevacqua’s special standing. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, advocating for the concerns of independent Notre Dame. Past Context and Future Moves The commissioner further pointed out the assistance the ACC provided Notre Dame in the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season, giving the Irish a full ACC schedule and a place in its title game. “His behavior has been unacceptable,” he said again. “It’s been unacceptable criticizing Jim Phillips, when they saved Notre Dame during Covid...” Speculation had circulated about Notre Dame possibly leaving the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. However, the commissioner's strong reprimand on Tuesday appear to make such a scenario highly improbable in the near term. The Irish, who reached the CFP championship game last season, have announced they are declining a postseason invitation after failing to qualify this season.