🔗 Share this article Big 12 Chief Calls Notre Dame Comments After CFP Snub as ‘Completely Out of Bounds’ In a public statement, Big 12 chief stated that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “totally out of bounds” for public criticisms about the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Source of the Tension The Fighting Irish maintains a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. The AD has argued that the ACC actively damaged Notre Dame’s bid to enter the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to campaigning for the selection of the University of Miami. “They does wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we bring significant 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 said. Miami eventually secured the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, primarily due to winning the direct meeting between the two teams. Notre Dame's AD also claimed that the ACC conducted a coordinated social media effort over several weeks demonstrating its preference for Miami. A Strong Response Later on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner spoke about the criticism at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum. “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 say to him the same thing.” The response is particularly notable given Bevacqua’s special standing. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee alongside the ten FBS conference commissioners, representing the interests of football independent Notre Dame. Past Context and Future Rumors Yormark further remarked the support the ACC offered Notre Dame in the Covid-affected 2020 season, providing the Irish a complete ACC schedule and a berth in its championship game. “It has been unacceptable,” he said again. “It’s been egregious attacking the ACC commissioner, when they saved Notre Dame during Covid...” Rumors had circulated about Notre Dame potentially splitting with the ACC and aligning with the Big 12. Yet, the commissioner's public reprimand on Tuesday seem to make such a move highly improbable in the near term. Notre Dame, who made the CFP championship game last season, have stated they are declining a postseason invitation after failing to qualify this year.