ACC commissioner responds to Notre Dame’s claims of ‘permanent damage’ to conference’s relationship with Irish
By Rolando Rosa
Published:
Notre Dame is so livid at missing out on the College Football Playoff that the program elected to bypass playing in a bowl game. Irishathletic director Pete Bevacqua went as far as to claim the ACC has caused “permanent damage” to the conference’s relationship with the Fighting Irish.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips has since released a response towards Bevacqua’s bold claims. Phillips acknowledges Notre Dame’s frustration but ultimately disagrees that the ACC wasn’t supportive of them being in the CFP.
“The University of Notre Dame is an incredibly valued member of the ACC and there is tremendous respect and appreciation for the entire institution,” Phillips said. “With that said, 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 denies any bias by the conference favoring Miami over Notre Dame. Both teams are 10-2 and the Hurricanes defeated the Fighting Irish 27-24 in the regular season opener.
“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.”
This will mark Notre Dame’s first season without a bowl since going 4-8 under Brian Kelly in 2016.
