Notre Dame’s athletic director Pete Bevacqua’s feud with the ACC took an odd turn on Tuesday. After Bevacqua’s direct shots at ACC commissioner Jim Phillips for unfair judgment, an unexpected ally jumped in. That’s the Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who, instead of piling on, straightaway backed Phillips.

“I don’t like it. His behavior has been egregious,” Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger quoted Yormark on X. “It’s egregious going after Jim Phillips.”

Yomark’s backing comes from the CFP committee’s decision to make a direct comparison between the two teams, where Miami already won against Notre Dame in Week 1. But let’s not forget Irish losses came against strong teams, whereas Miami lost against Louisville, and SMU won a close game against Florida State.

It all started with ACC’s ignorance of Notre Dame, and athletic director Pete Bevacqua didn’t waste a single moment addressing it. He expressed his surprise at ACC’s backing of Miami despite Notre Dame’s involvement in 24 other sports and its scheduling agreement with the ACC since 2014. He also pointed out that the Irish football team plays five of the ACC opponents every year, helping them to strengthen their network’s brand and reach.

Another key mistake that fueled Bevacqua’s frustration is ACC’s choice of title contenders. Sending Duke ended Notre Dame’s playoff chances, as if they would have sent the highest-ranked team, Miami, in their win, it would have given an edge to the Irish, but in contrast, Duke won, and Notre Dame was left with nothing but remorse.

But the jab didn’t just stop at that; Bevacqua kept pushing back against ACC, claiming that ACC has been advocating in favor of Miami. Especially after ACC’s official X account posted that compared Miami’s 27-24 win over Notre Dame and their matching 10-2 records, stating, “No hypotheticals, just facts.” Notre Dame took this as a direct target against them.

Frustration turned into anger, and Bevacqua made it clear how he views ACC’s role in this outcome.

“Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua says it was a 3-3.5 week social media campaign from the ACC attacking Notre Dame,” NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach said on X. “He said he talked to ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and said it ‘raised eyebrows, and you’ve got to know it caused damage.”

Despite ACC’s constant poking, Yormark is standing tall with the committee’s decision. But he does express his dissatisfaction with BYU’s snub, yet he states that he understands why it was necessary to keep them out of the race, as per Ross Dellenger’s reports.

Now, besides playoff drama, another big stress is hitting Notre Dame.

Pete Bevacqua gets real on Marcus Freeman’s future

Although Notre Dame’s season ended on a bad note. Marcus Freeman’s resume is grabbing eyes. With NFL teams possibly planning to swoop in, the Irish head coach. Teams like the Giants and Titans are already planning to interview with him, and that’s not something that Notre Dame would like to hear.

Marcus Freeman’s championship berth and taking Notre Dame to the national spotlight make him a prime target for teams looking to boost their momentum. But Bevacqua made it clear that Notre Dame is his only destination.

“Everybody has eyes on Marcus,” Bevacqua said. “College has eyes on Marcus; NFL has eyes on Marcus. I bet Hollywood has eyes on Marcus. … He’s the absolute best coach in the country for Notre Dame, full stop, and one of the greatest college coaches in the country.”

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But it won’t be that easy, as Notre Dame already signed a four-year extension through 2030 with the Irish last December. Although his salary is not publicly known, Freeman has reportedly earned more than $7.4 million in 2023.

On top of it, Bevacqua also made it clear that his contract will be revised annually to make sure his position in the sport remains among the highest-paid coaches. Now that the playoffs are out of the scene for them, let’s wait and see how things turn out for the Irish next season.