Notre Dame AD still upset with ACC and CFP committee, calls for expansion to 16-team playoff field

Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua thinks there's a simple solution to politicking for College Football Playoff spots: expansion.

He was still upset Tuesday about the selection committee's decision to bypass the Fighting Irish from the 12-team playoff field and the public campaigning by the Atlantic Coast Conference to get full-time league member Miami a spot. He then called a 16-team format the perfect number.

''It should be 16 teams in my opinion, with five automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams,'' Bevacqua said as he fielded questions for nearly 40 minutes. ''What I like about 16 is it creates more opportunity, more narratives around schools and yet it preserves the integrity and importance of the regular season.''

Bevacqua did not back off the complaints that have permeated college football ever since the CFP participants were revealed Sunday.

He still thinks the committee should be more transparent with its selection process to ensure schools, coaches, players and fans know how decisions are made and where they actually stand in the rankings. He also reiterated that ACC's actions have created ''real damage'' with Notre Dame.

But two days after Notre Dame decided to skip the bowl season altogether, he also tempered his words.

''I would tell you, at this point, we haven't given all that a ton of thought,'' Bevacqua said when asked what he expects the ACC to do next. ''Are we looking for an apology? Quite frankly, I don't think an apology does much of anything or unwinds what has happened. But we'll, at the right time, sit down with the ACC leadership and I think hopefully have a very frank, honest, productive conversation. But that time is not now.

Big 12 Conference Commissioner Brett Yormark, speaking at the Sports Business Journal's Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in Las Vegas, criticized Bevacqua and Notre Dame.

''I didn't like Notre Dame's response,'' Yormark said. ''I think it was very egregious. I think (Bevacqua) was totally out of bounds, and if he was in the room, I'd tell him the same thing. You have to accept it.''

Bevacqua said he was texting with ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips last week after the conference began what he considered a second round of campaigning on behalf of Miami.

The league had been clear it was in steady communication with the CFP committee, supplying data that made the case for its teams leading up to the selection show. The ESPN-partnered ACC Network also repeatedly showed a replay of the season-opening Notre Dame-Miami game last week — including four times on Thursday's schedule and five more on Friday.

Miami beat Notre Dame 27-24 on a last-second field goal, a head-to-head result that clearly had an impact on the committee.

Phillips made no apologies for what transpired, either.

On Monday, he issued a statement calling Notre Dame an ''incredibly valued'' member of the ACC while also saying the league had a responsibility to advocate for its 17 football-playing league members. ACC officials declined to make any additional comments Tuesday.

''I stand behind our conference efforts to do just that leading up to the College Football Playoff Committee selections on Sunday,'' Phillips said. ''At no time was it suggested by the ACC that Notre Dame was not a worthy candidate for inclusion in the field. We are thrilled for the University of Miami while also understanding and appreciating the significant disappointment of the Notre Dame players, coaches and program.''

Bevacqua said there was no ill will between the schools, noting he congratulated Miami's athletic director in a text message Tuesday night, while also citing a stat that showed when Notre Dame plays at other ACC stadiums, 90% of the games are sold out compared with 23% of other ACC contests.

What continues to bother Bevacqua and the Irish, though, is that Notre Dame was sitting in playoff position every week — until the final poll — on a weekend that neither team played.

A repeat is not likely to happen in the future because of a provision that takes effect next season assuring Notre Dame of a playoff spot if it finishes in the top 12. But to Bevacqua, that's not a good enough solution for everyone else.

He thinks it's time for another expansion.

''Sixteen would have been perfect,'' he said. "I think 16 teams with that five-(automatic qualifiers)-and-11 breakdown is the way to go.''

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AP Sports Writers Mark Anderson and Aaron Beard contributed to this report.