Notre Dame AD, ACC Commissioner Reportedly Met After 2025 CFP Playoff Bracket Snub
There was plenty of tension in the relationship between Notre Dame and the ACC after the Fighting Irish were left out of the College Football Playoff, but the two sides reportedly held a "productive" meeting Thursday.
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips met in New York City for multiple hours to discuss "a range of issues" during a get together that was described as "highly positive" for a continuing relationship.
Such a meeting is notable because Bevacqua did not exactly hold back on his comments shortly after the CFP snub.
During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show earlier this month, he said the ACC did "permanent damage" to the relationship and added, "we were mystified by the actions of the conference, to attack their biggest business partner in football and a member conference in 24 sports."
The ACC consistently pushed for Miami's inclusion as an at-large team into the field with Phillips making a definitive public statement:
However, the final at-large spot ended up coming down to a battle between Notre Dame and Miami. While the Fighting Irish were ahead of the Hurricanes with every updated set of CFP rankings throughout the season, Miami jumped them in the final one that determined the actual 12-team field.
With BYU's fall after its loss to Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, Notre Dame and Miami were next to each other in the rankings. It seemed like the committee gave more weight to the Hurricanes' head-to-head win given that situation and rewarded them with the final spot.
After Bevacqua's comments about the "permanent damage," Phillips released his own statement that called Notre Dame "an incredibly valued member of the ACC."
While the Fighting Irish are not in the ACC for football, they have a scheduling relationship with the conference. They are also in the league for other sports and clearly took issue with the ACC pushing for Miami.
It should be noted the Hurricanes are a full-time member in football. What's more, the ACC didn't criticize Notre Dame as much as it backed Miami as its full-time member in the sport.
It seems like both sides are making amends at this point for a relationship that will likely continue despite some tension around this season's CFP.
