At a notable rebuke, Brett Yormark asserted that Notre Dame's AD, Pete Bevacqua, was “completely out of bounds” for recent criticisms about the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Notre Dame maintains a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. Bevacqua has argued that the ACC harmed Notre Dame’s bid to make the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the selection of the University of Miami.
“The ACC does great things for Notre Dame, but we offer significant football value to the ACC, and we couldn't comprehend why you would go out of your way to try to damage us in this process,” Bevacqua stated.
Miami ultimately secured the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, primarily due to winning the direct meeting between the two programs. Bevacqua additionally stated that the ACC conducted a coordinated social media campaign over several weeks demonstrating its preference for Miami.
Later on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner responded to the allegations at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
“In my view his conduct has been unacceptable,” Yormark commented. “He is completely out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the same room, I’d say to him the same thing.”
This public criticism is particularly significant given Bevacqua’s prominent role. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the interests of football independent Notre Dame.
Yormark further highlighted the lifeline the ACC gave Notre Dame during the Covid-affected 2020 season, providing the Irish a full ACC schedule and a berth in its championship game.
“His behavior has been egregious,” he said again. “It’s been unacceptable criticizing the ACC commissioner, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”
Speculation had spread about Notre Dame potentially splitting with the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. Yet, the commissioner's public comments on Tuesday appear to make such a scenario highly improbable in the immediate future.
The Irish, who made the CFP championship game last season, have announced they will decline a bowl game after failing to qualify this year.
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