Notre Dame Booster Lobs Major Corruption Allegation at Hunter Yurachek Over CFP Snub

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Notre Dame Booster Lobs Major Corruption Allegation at Hunter Yurachek Over CFP Snub
Photo Credit: Craven Whitlow / Fox
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When the College Football Playoff expanded from four teams to a dozen, it was supposed to mitigate the schools on the precipice who felt they were left out. Surely No. 13 wonโ€™t cause as big of a fuss as No. 5 often did.

That couldnโ€™t have been further from the truth with this yearโ€™s redheaded stepchild, Notre Dame โ€“ I promise that wasnโ€™t an Irish joke.

The Fighting Irish were the first team out on Selection Sunday, with Alabama and Miami (Fla.) receiving the final at-large bids. This was an entirely avoidable โ€œcrisis,โ€ though.

Until Sunday, Notre Dame had consistently been ranked ahead of Miami despite losing to the Hurricanes head-to-head and boasting the same record and similar metrics. Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek, the CFP committee chair, frequently tripped over himself on national television trying to explain the inexplicable. In the 11th hour, the high-and-mighty panel of suits finally made the call and put Miami in the field.

Riots immediately broke out. Not the real kind, just virtual Molotov cocktails confined to the Twittersphere.

Just like Notre Dame fans stuck to online outcry, the Fighting Irish wonโ€™t be standing on business on the actual gridiron, either. The program announced Sunday evening it was declining to participate in a bowl game.

It wasnโ€™t just crackpot fans being hysterical, either.

Key Notre Dame booster Tom Mendoza, the namesake for the schoolโ€™s College of Business, went as far as accusing Yurachek of bold-faced corruption.

โ€œNotre Dame crushed them 56-13 and their AD, Hunter Yurachek, fired their coach that day,โ€ Mendoza tweeted Monday. โ€œThe atmosphere was like their Super Bowl. Same Hunter who led the committee. Just saying.โ€

Of course, anyone who actually paid attention to that game knows it didnโ€™t have the usual fervor of a ranked opponent in Fayetteville. The Irish were 1-2 and the Hogs were 2-2 and coming off a deflating loss to Memphis. The wheels had already started coming off for Arkansas. If anything, the beatdown was a merciful ending to the Hogsโ€™ suffering.

Mike Berardino, a Notre Dame beat writer for USAToday, levied a similar charge against Yurachek.

โ€œArkansasโ€™ AD was a little distracted that day. He was busy passing the hat in the Walmart luxury suite to facilitate Sam Pittmanโ€™s buyout,โ€ Berardino tweeted Sunday. โ€œND ruined Hunter Yurachekโ€™s last Sunday of September. Today, Yurachek did the same for Notre Dameโ€™s entire month of December (and beyond).โ€

Author

  • Michael Main is a Fayetteville native who, like both of his older brothers, attended the University of Arkansas. Main graduated in 2025 with a double major in journalism and political science and a minor in legal studies. He spent his childhood following the Razorbacks closely and attending as many games as possible, witnessing iconic moments like the Michael Qualls put-back dunk, the Henry Heave and a number of field stormings. Main was a member of the Razorback Marching Band and Hogwild Pep Band, attending every home football and basketball game while he was a student and traveling to San Francisco, Providence, Tampa and elsewhere for postseason play. After freelancing for BoAS for a year and a half, the 22-year-old made the transition to a full-time role as senior writer following his graduation. In his free time, Main is likely spending time outdoors, enjoying the company of friends or feeding his obsession with Liverpool FC and European football as a whole.

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