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Notre Dame’s bellyaching tour after being snubbed from the College Football Playoff could have repercussions.

In the wake of athletic director Pete Bevacqua going scorched earth on the ACC, with the Fighting Irish being excluded from the 12-team field and Miami receiving the final at-large berth, it’s been reported that other powerhouses are stewing behind closed doors.

According to Yahoo Sports, a fiery rebuttal from Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark “was only a taste of what’s being said behind the scenes by people who have long memories and could one day be on a CFP committee themselves.”


  Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua. AP Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua. AP

Yorkman pushed back on comments made by Bevacqua, who expressed frustration toward the ACC on “The Dan Patrick Show” Monday: “I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t say they have certainly done permanent damage to the relationship between the conference and Notre Dame.”

Yorkman called Bevacqua’s response “out of bounds” — and would tell him as much “if he was in the same room.”

“I don’t like how Notre Dame’s reacted to it,” Yormark said. “I think Pete, his behavior has been egregious. 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 chair] Hunter [Yurachek] was very transparent about it, the chair — that as Notre Dame and Miami got closer together, head-to-head would be a factor. OK? BYU lost. They came closer together, head-to-head made a difference in that decision.”


  Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman during a game in November 2025. Getty Images Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman during a game in November 2025. Getty Images

Notre Dame, whose football program remains independent of the ACC but has a schedule agreement with the conference, has also agreed to a new playoff arrangement in the wake of this year’s snub.

“As part of a memorandum of understanding signed by CFP officials last spring, Notre Dame will be assured of making the playoff if it is ranked in the top 12 starting next year,” Bevacqua relayed to Yahoo Sports.

The opening games of the 2025 College Football Playoff:

Round 1

Quarterfinals

  • No. 10 Miami vs No. 2 Ohio State at Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET
  • No. 5 Oregon vs No. 4 Texas Tech on Jan. 1 at 12 p.m. ET
  • No. 9 Alabama vs No. 1 Indiana on Jan. 1 at 4 p.m. ET
  • No. 6 Ole Miss vs No. 3 Georgia on Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. ET

Yahoo reported that because of that news athletic directors from top schools are now “threatening to freeze them out of future schedules.”

The report cautioned, however, “Who knows if they’ll follow through” given the attention matchups with Notre Dame bring.

Notre Dame concluded its season on a 10-game winning streak, but early-season losses to Miami and Texas A&M doomed its playoff hopes.

Those two programs will now face each other in the CFP, with the No. 10 Hurricanes visiting the No. 7 Aggies on Dec. 20.

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