Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua is not just mad at the College Football Playoff committee. Now he is pointing a finger at the ACC itself, saying the league did "permanent damage" to its relationship with the Irish with the way it publicly campaigned against Notre Dame in the days before Miami grabbed the final at-large playoff spot.
Speaking on The Dan Patrick Show, Bevacqua said the ACC crossed a line with how hard it leaned into pro-Miami, anti-Notre Dame talking points during the stretch run of the debate. Bevacqua said the conference's politicking did "permanent damage" to the relationship and added, "We didn't appreciate the fact we were singled out repeatedly."
Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua says the ACC did “permanent damage” to its relationship with ND for all of the anti-Irish playoff politicking the conference publicly leaned into in the lead up to the selection show.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) December 8, 2025
“We didn’t appreciate the fact we were singled out repeatedly.” pic.twitter.com/6oF2ZxqIo6
Miami Hurricanes made the CFP over Notre Dame
Bevacqua's comments come after a week of very public lobbying from ACC commissioner Jim Phillips. Phillips spent the final days before Selection Sunday pushing the idea that Miami and the eventual ACC champion both deserved playoff bids, stressing that the Hurricanes owned a head-to-head win over Notre Dame and insisting there was "no question Miami's a playoff team."
The committee ultimately agreed with the ACC's Miami argument, at least. Notre Dame finished 10-2 with a 10-game winning streak and had been ranked ahead of Miami for weeks, but the final 12-team bracket bumped the Irish out and vaulted the Hurricanes into the field, with Miami's Aug. 31 win in Miami Gardens acting as a the tiebreaker once BYU lost the Big 12 title game.
Bevacqua has already called the weekly CFP rankings show a "farce" that gave his program false hope and said the final decision felt like the rug was pulled out from under the Irish. Notre Dame also responded by declining all bowl invitations.
His latest comments obviously drew more attention because the ACC has a long-standing scheduling agreement with Notre Dame. The Irish play five ACC opponents each year in football, and the conference has benefited for a decade from the Notre Dame brand on its TV inventory.
The issue with Notre Dame expecting support from the ACC
From Notre Dame's side, the issue is not Miami's case as much as how loudly the ACC went against them publicly. But, even with the mutually beneficial agreement already in place between ND and the ACC, what else was the conference supposed to do? Miami was left out to dry for weeks without vocal help until recently. Most conference commissioners and social media managers were campaigning during the final weeks as well. If Notre Dame thought they would get the same support as a team that is actually in the ACC, then maybe this will open their eyes. If it was between Notre Dame and a non-ACC team, there is no doubt that the ACC, Phillips, and everybody else involved would have supported the Irish.
It is also worth noting that Bevacqua also went on ESPN's Pat McAfee Show before the final rankings and said Miami "should be playing in their conference championship," praising the Hurricanes.
What's next for Notre Dame and the ACC?
Still, these latest "permanent damage" comments raise real questions about what comes next between Notre Dame and the ACC. The Irish have repeatedly said this saga only cements their desire to remain independent, even as much of the sport drifts toward super-conferences. The ACC, meanwhile, just watched its public push for Miami succeed, but possibly cost it political capital with its most valuable non-member partner.