Earlier this month, following the selection for the 2025 College Football Playoff field, Notre Dame Athletic Director Pete Bevacqua ripped the Atlantic Coast Conference for alleged bias towards the Fighting Irish. Throughout the rankings process at the end of the regular season, the ACC put up social media posts favoring Miami to be selected to the CFP over Notre Dame. After the final CFP rankings came out before the Selection Show, it felt like Alabama, Notre Dame, and Miami were fighting for two spots. Ultimately, the Crimson Tide and the Hurricanes made the field, and the Irish did not.
Following Notre Dame's exclusion from the CFP, Bevacqua made his displeasure with the ACC very public, saying it had done "permanent damage" to the relationship between ND and the conference.
"We have no gripes against any of the schools in the ACC," Bevacqua said. "But we were mystified by the actions of the conference, to attack, you know, their biggest business partner in football, and a member of their conference in 24 of our other sports. I would tell you, Dan, I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t say that they have certainly done permanent damage to the relationship between the conference and Notre Dame.”
Notre Dame later declined its bowl game invitation. However, it's now been reported that Notre Dame and the ACC are making strides towards repairing the relationship between the two sides.
Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips reportedly met for "highly positive and productive" conversation
It's now been reported that Bevacqua and Jim Phillips, the commissioner of the ACC, met for roughly two hours in New York City on December 18th, in what was reported to be a "highly positive and productive" conversation.
Sources: Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips met for roughly 2 hours Thursday in NYC, as @aadelsonESPN + @RossDellenger reported, in what has been described as a “highly positive and productive” conversation.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) December 19, 2025
Both sides look to move past the CFP drama. pic.twitter.com/bO1EoHPEM3
Notre Dame competes in the ACC in every sport except football and hockey, and still has a scheduling partnership with the ACC in football, where it is guaranteed about five games against ACC opponents each season.
After Bevacqua took the presumed targeting of ND from the ACC very personally, this is a very good sign for the health of the ACC to see the relationship being repaired.