🔗 Share this article

During a public rebuke, Big 12 Conference commissioner stated that Notre Dame's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, was “totally out of bounds” for public remarks targeting the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

The Source of the Controversy

Notre Dame maintains a football scheduling alliance with the ACC and is a participating member in all other sports. Bevacqua has claimed that the ACC actively damaged Notre Dame’s bid to make the College Football Playoff, instead choosing to advocating for the spot of the University of Miami.

“The ACC does wonderful things for Notre Dame, but we offer substantial football value to the ACC, and we didn’t understand why you would go out of your way to try to hurt us in this process,” the athletic director remarked.

Miami ultimately secured the CFP invitation over Notre Dame, largely due to securing the direct meeting between the two teams. Bevacqua also claimed that the ACC engaged in a coordinated social media campaign over several weeks showing its preference for Miami.

An Egregious Reaction

Subsequently on Tuesday, the Big 12 commissioner addressed the comments at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.

“I think his behavior has been out of line,” the commissioner commented. “He is completely out of bounds in his tactics and if he was in the room, I’d tell him the same thing.”

The pushback is especially notable given Bevacqua’s prominent role. He serves on the College Football Playoff Management Committee with the ten FBS conference commissioners, advocating for the interests of independent Notre Dame.

Historical Context and Speculative Rumors

The commissioner further remarked the assistance the ACC gave Notre Dame during the Covid-affected 2020 season, giving the Irish a complete conference schedule and a berth in its title game.

“His behavior has been egregious,” he reiterated. “It’s been unacceptable attacking the ACC commissioner, when they helped Notre Dame during Covid...”

Rumors had circulated about Notre Dame potentially leaving the ACC and partnering with the Big 12. Yet, the commissioner's strong comments on Tuesday seem to make such a move highly improbable in the near term.

Notre Dame, who reached the CFP championship game last season, have stated they are declining a postseason invitation after failing to qualify this year.