🔗 Share this article Big 12 Commissioner Calls Notre Dame Remarks Following CFP Omission as ‘Totally Out of Bounds’ At a notable criticism, Big 12 Conference commissioner stated that Notre Dame athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “completely out of bounds” for recent criticisms about the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Source of the Controversy Notre Dame maintains a gridiron scheduling agreement with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. The AD has claimed that the ACC harmed Notre Dame’s opportunities to make the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to pushing for the inclusion of the University of Miami. “They does wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we offer substantial football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would make an effort to try to hurt us in this procedure,” the athletic director remarked. Miami ultimately earned the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, largely due to winning the head-to-head meeting between the two teams. Bevacqua also claimed that the ACC ran a coordinated social media push over multiple weeks indicating its support for Miami. A Strong Reaction Subsequently on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner addressed the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum. “I think his actions has been egregious,” the commissioner said. “He is completely out of bounds in his tactics and if he was in the same room, I’d say to him the same thing.” This public response is particularly notable given Bevacqua’s special standing. He sits on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, advocating for the concerns of independent Notre Dame. Historical Support and Speculative Moves The commissioner also remarked the lifeline the ACC gave Notre Dame in the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season, giving the Irish a full conference schedule and a place in its championship game. “It has been unacceptable,” Yormark said again. “It’s been unacceptable attacking the ACC commissioner, when they rescued Notre Dame during Covid...” Talk had circulated about Notre Dame potentially leaving the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. However, the commissioner's strong reprimand on Tuesday appear to make such a move highly improbable in the near term. The Irish, who reached the CFP final last season, have stated they are declining a bowl game after failing to qualify this season.