Could Notre Dame Cut Ties With ACC After CFP Controversy?

In the weeks leading up to the College Football Playoff bracket reveal, the ACC campaigned for Miami to be a part of the College Football Playoff.

On Sunday, the conference got its wish as Miami jumped Notre Dame following a weekend in which neither team played. What the ACC may not have anticipated was the potential of ruining its relationship with a valuable partner.

From social media graphics to constant ACC Network replays of the Miami versus Notre Dame game from Aug. 31, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua did not appreciate the negativity aimed at the Irish by the ACC, which has had an agreement since 2014 that puts five ACC opponents on Notre Dame's schedule per year.

"We have no gripes about any of the schools in the ACC. But we were mystified by the actions of the conference, to attack their biggest, really, business partner in football and a member of their conference in 24 other sports," Bevacqua said Monday on the Dan Patrick Show. "And I would tell you, Dan, I wouldn't be honest with you if I didn't say they have certainly done permanent damage to the relationship between the conference and Notre Dame."

No hypotheticals, just facts.

Team A ✅ https://t.co/2SshUcSWhK pic.twitter.com/eyHadwcQYt
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) November 11, 2025

"We didn't appreciate the fact that we were singled out repeatedly and compared to Miami," Bevacqua continued. "Not by Miami –– Miami has every right to do that. But it raised a lot of eyebrows here that the conference was taking shots at us, and that's just not something we chose to do. We wouldn't choose to do that in the future. People might disagree with that, but that's just not something we'd be comfortable with."

So, Patrick asked, is Notre Dame going to reevaluate its relationship with the ACC?

"I would just say it's been strained," Bevacqua answered.

Is it irreparable?

"Well, you never say irreparable, but it's opened our eyes and it caught our attention," Bevacqua said. "But we'll move past this like we are, as you know we're already focused on next season."

Bevacqua added Notre Dame's gripe is not with the teams that made the CFP ahead of them, rather with the questionable process and logic used by the playoff committee. The Irish had been in the committee's projected playoff field for five weeks, only to be swapped out at the last second.

"We take this seriously, as do other universities, and the rankings can't just be musical chairs at some fifth grade birthday party," Bevacqua said. "They have to mean something, and to me, what happened to us really was kind of alarming."

Bevacqua said Notre Dame was led to believe they'd be in the playoff as long as they took care of business, something they certainly achieved by ending the year on a 10-game win streak. That left he and coach Marcus Freeman with little explanation for the players on Sunday afternoon.

"You think about that first ranking, we and Miami, we're both 6-2. They had obviously already beat us the first game of the year. They were 18th, we were 10th. The only thing that we did since that point was win every game by an average of over 30 points, and all of a sudden we're 11th and on the outside looking in," Bevacqua said.

"When we sit and talk to Marcus and when we talk to our team, we don't have any answers for that. We're just really frustrated that we had the rug pulled from underneath us."

The full interview with Bevacqua on the Dan Patrick Show, which also includes discussion on potential playoff expansion, can be seen below.

Jack Ankony's take

Bevacqua wouldn't have said this if Notre Dame wasn't seriously considering cutting ties with the ACC, unless he's simply expressing the anger of the fan base and serving as an outlet for the frustration.

Notre Dame's agreement to play five ACC games each season can feel detrimental to its overall strength of schedule in certain seasons, and the conference has been trending in the wrong direction.

After all, its conference champion, Duke, didn't even make the College Football Playoff, which gives bids to the five highest ranked conference champions. When teams from the American –– Tulane and James Madison –– are getting in ahead of the ACC champion, the conference has some major issues.

Miami represented a quality opponent in Notre Dame's five-game ACC slate, but the other four included NC State (7-5), Boston College (2-10), Pittsburgh (8-4), Syracuse (3-9) and Stanford (4-8). Just three ACC teams finished in the final CFP top-25 rankings, and six of the 17 teams finished below .500 overall.

Clemson had been a national power, but it went 7-5 this season and seems unwilling to adapt in the transfer portal era. Since getting snubbed from the CFP in 2023, Florida State has gone 7-17 across two seasons. Miami has put together back-to-back 10-win seasons, but I'm not confident in any other ACC team being nationally relevant year in and year out.

If Notre Dame agrees, it should explore exit strategies. The school would also have to consider the impact this would have on its other varsity sports, which, besides football and men's hockey, compete in the ACC. And after hearing Bevacqua speak Monday, that might be a real possibliity

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