Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark blasts Notre Dame AD's 'egregious' reaction to CFP snub, defends ACC

LAS VEGAS -- Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark publicly backed his ACC counterpart Tuesday after Notre Dame's athletics director tore into the league over the Irish being left out of the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua has openly questioned the ACC's support after Miami -- an ACC member -- jumped the Irish for the final at-large CFP berth. Bevacqua told "The Dan Patrick Show" on Monday that Notre Dame's relationship with the ACC sustained "permanent damage."

His decision to go after the league so forcefully, and so publicly, didn't sit well with Yormark.

"Pete's behavior has been egregious," Yormark said Tuesday during a panel at the Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in Las Vegas. "It's been egregious going after [ACC commissioner] Jim Phillips when they saved Notre Dame during COVID. We all knew, and it was very transparent -- [CFP committee chairman] Hunter [Yurachek] was very transparent about it, that as Notre Dame and Miami got closer together, head-to-head would be a factor."

Notre Dame AD says ACC did 'permanent damage' to relationship with push for Miami over Irish

Robby Kalland

In 2020, Notre Dame was granted temporary ACC membership to play a full football schedule during the shortened season.

"I think [Bevacqua] is totally out of balance in his approach, and if he were in the room, I'd tell him the same thing," Yormark said Tuesday.

In the penultimate CFP rankings, BYU sat between Notre Dame and Miami but fell to Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game, giving the committee room to take a hard look at the Hurricanes and Irish. Miami's season-opening win over Notre Dame became the decisive wedge that pushed the Hurricanes into the field.

Bevacqua argued the ACC "singled out" two-loss Notre Dame as it worked to elevate Miami.

"We were mystified by the actions of the conference to attack their biggest business partner in football and a member of their conference in 24 of our other sports," Bevacqua said Monday. 

Phillips rejected that assertion.

"The University of Notre Dame is an incredibly valued member of the ACC, and there is tremendous respect and appreciation for the entire institution," Phillips said in a statement Monday. "With that said, when it comes to football, we have a responsibility to support and advocate for all 17 of our football-playing member institutions, and I stand behind our conference efforts to do just that leading up to the College Football Playoff Committee selections on Sunday.

"At no time was it suggested by the ACC that Notre Dame was not a worthy candidate for inclusion in the field. We are thrilled for the University of Miami while also understanding and appreciating the significant disappointment of the Notre Dame players, coaches and program."

Notre Dame declined a bowl invitation after the school was left out of the playoff.

Yormark was a proponent for BYU's inclusion in the playoff, but said he understood why the Cougars were not included in the field after suffering a second loss to Texas Tech.

"I think overall, they did the right job," Yormark said. "It's progress over perfection. The selection process will never be perfect. And our goal as commissioners and the management committee is how do we improve upon it?"