ACC Commissioner puts ND in its place after CFP chooses Miami

After Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua accused the ACC of doing "permanent damage" to its relationship with the Irish over how hard the conference pushed Miami for the College Football Playoff, commissioner Jim Phillips issued his own statement. And while he struck all the right diplomatic notes about Notre Dame, he also made it clear he is not apologizing for backing the Hurricanes.

ACC Commissioner doubles down on backing Miami

Phillips called Notre Dame "an incredibly valued member of the ACC" and said there is "tremendous respect and appreciation for the entire institution." But he explained that the ACC's obligation is to its actual football members. "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," Phillips said.

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

Bevacqua went on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday and said the ACC's public politicking for Miami — social media posts and an ACC Network TV schedule that replayed the Hurricanes win over Notre Dame in week one — had "certainly done permanent damage to the relationship between the conference and Notre Dame."

He complained that the Irish "were singled out repeatedly," and characterized the ACC's push for Miami as the ACC "attacking their biggest partner in football" despite Notre Dame competing in 24 other sports in the conference.

The ACC chose to support the Miami Hurricanes

The commissioner essentially said: We still like you. We just weren't going to stay neutral when one of our members, Miami, was in a fight with a non-member for a playoff spot (even if that non-member competes in 24 other sports).

For Canes fans, that is exactly what they had been begging the ACC to do. For weeks, Miami sat behind Notre Dame in the CFP rankings despite a head-to-head win, while ACC accounts/officials were relatively quiet publicly. Over the last two weeks, that changed. The ACC's football accounts got involved and the ACC Network replayed the 27-24 Hurricanes win more than a dozen times going into championship weekend.

In Notre Dame's case, the emotions are obviously very different. The Irish closed the year on a 10-game winning streak, watched Miami jump them on the final Sunday, then chose to skip a Pop-Tarts Bowl invitation rather than play a consolation game. They now look forward to the CFP memorandum (which they signed prior to this season) that will guarantee them a playoff berth in future seasons if they finish inside the top 12.

The long-term fallout between Notre Dame and the ACC is still an open question. The Irish will keep playing five ACC opponents a year under the current agreement, and Miami is scheduled to head to South Bend again next season. That game will for sure be must-see-TV.