Paul Finebaum champions ‘unprecedented’ response from Brett Yormark in calling out Pete Bevacqua amid Notre Dame-ACC friction

Paul Finebaum has never been shy about identifying turning-point moments in college football. On Wednesday’s edition of ESPN’s Get Up, he argued that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark delivered one of them. 

In the wake of rising tension between Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua and the ACC, Finebaum praised Yormark for doing what conference commissioners almost never do publicly. He called out one of their own.

“You just have to think about what he said. That’s so unprecedented for one of these people that sits at the Big Boy table, and Yormark is at that table,” Finebaum said. “He’s one of the Power Four commissioners. That is just incredible, because that never happens. This is part of the problem with college football, they never do what he did. That is a seminal moment right there.”

Yormark’s comments earlier in the week came after Bevacqua accused the ACC, and commissioner Jim Phillips, of pushing against Notre Dame during the College Football Playoff deliberations in an attempt to get Miami into the 12-team field. Bevacqua’s criticism became unusually sharp, and it drew frustration across the administrative landscape.

In response, Yormark didn’t mince words. Speaking through SBJ, he called Bevacqua’s behavior “egregious” and “totally out of bounds,” adding he would have told the Notre Dame AD the same thing if the selection room had included him. His stance marked a rare public rebuke from one commissioner toward another high-ranking official, the very reason Finebaum found the moment so striking.

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Yormark’s frustration also stemmed from Selection Sunday itself. The Big 12 secured only one CFP bid, with Texas Tech earning the league’s lone spot. BYU made a strong case late in the season, but ultimately Alabama and Miami claimed the final at-large berths. 

Yormark acknowledged the disappointment, but still backed the committee’s decisions. “Overall they did the right job,” he said, later adding, “It’s progress over perfection.”

Meanwhile, the tension between Notre Dame and the ACC remains unresolved. Bevacqua did confirm communication with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey regarding the CFP format, but he had not yet spoken with Yormark or Phillips.

For Finebaum, that silence underscores just how unusual and impactful Yormark’s public stand truly was. In a sport where conference leaders typically avoid confrontation, this clash represents a rare crack in the long-standing united front at college football’s highest table.

— On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this article.