Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick will step down in 2024, and the university has already named his replacement.
The Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, announced Thursday that Swarbrick will be replaced by Pete Bevacqua, chairman of NBC Sports Group and a 1993 Notre Dame graduate. Bevacqua will begin July 1 in the role of special assistant to the president for athletics before taking over for Swarbrick in the first quarter of 2024 at a date to be determined.
Swarbrick has been Notre Dame's athletic director since 2008.
“It speaks volumes about Notre Dame and Father Jenkins' leadership that we can implement such a well-conceived succession plan and attract someone of Pete’s talent and experience,” Swarbrick said in a release from the university. “I have worked closely with Pete throughout his time at NBC and based on that experience, I believe he has the perfect skill set to help Notre Dame navigate the rapidly changing landscape that is college athletics today, and be an important national leader as we look to the future.
"I look forward to helping Notre Dame's student-athletes and coaches achieve their goals in the months ahead while also helping Pete prepare for his tenure as athletics director.”
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Bevacqua became the third chairman of NBC Sports in September of 2020. Bevacqua was tasked with overseeing the various platforms associated with NBC Sports and the broadcast rights agreements tied to them. That includes Notre Dame's agreement with NBC Sports, which is entering its 33rd season with a current contract that runs through 2025. It's unclear to what extent Notre Dame and NBC Sports have engaged in contract renewal discussions.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Bevacqua said of Notre Dame and NBC: "It has been an unbelievable, mutually beneficial relationship for both entities. I have a strong suspicion that both Notre Dame and NBC would love to see that going forward well into the future.”
Bevacqua, whose time at Notre Dame reportedly included a role as a walk-on punter under head coach Lou Holtz, also said he's a fan of Notre Dame's conference independence in football.
Maintaining that independence will likely require a significant increase in value provided by Notre Dame's next media rights contract to keep up with the Big Ten and SEC, whose schools will reportedly receive $75-$100 million annually as soon as 2025.
Under Bevacqua's leadership, NBC Sports signed agreements with the NFL for an 11-year extension for the rights to Sunday Night Football, and with the Big Ten for a seven-year deal for the rights to broadcast Big Ten football games on NBC and Peacock, beginning this fall.
Bevacqua, who grew up in New York and attended Brunswick School in Greenwich, Conn., graduated from Notre Dame magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English. He attained a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in 1997.
“This is an unbelievable honor for me and a dream come true," Bevacqua said in the university's release. "With the exception of my family, nothing means more to me than the University of Notre Dame. As a Notre Dame alum, I have a keen understanding and deep appreciation of the lifetime, transformational benefit our student-athletes receive in a Notre Dame education, one that is unique and unlike any other institution in the world.
"I am so grateful to Father Jenkins, the Board of Trustees and, of course, Jack Swarbrick. Jack has become a true friend over the course of the past several years and I am looking forward to working alongside him and learning as much as I can from the person I admire and respect the most in college athletics.”
Bevacqua's career climb included several positions with the U.S. Golf Association (USGA): in-house counsel, managing director of the U.S. Open and chief business officer. He spent time as the head of golf in the sports division of Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Bevacqua then became chief executive officer of the Professional Golfers' Association of America from 2012-18.
Notre Dame cited Bevacqua's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. He serves as a co-chair with NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent at the head of RISE, an alliance of major U.S. sports leagues and media networks that uses "sports to eliminate racism and champion social justice."
Swarbrick's tenure as Notre Dame's athletic director began when he was hired to replace Kevin White following White's departure for Duke in 2008. Swarbrick hired two head coaches for the football program — Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman — and head coaches for the men's and women's basketball programs — Micah Shrewsberry and Niele Ivey, respectively — in addition to other leadership changes in Notre Dame's athletic programs.
Notre Dame won 10 team national championships during Swarbrick's tenure: six in fencing (2011, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023) and one each in women's soccer (2010), men's soccer (2013), women's basketball (2018) and men's lacrosse (2023). The Irish finished in the top 10 of the Directors' Cup standings, which accounts for all NCAA sports, four times in Swarbrick's tenure: 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2021-22. The final standings for the 2022-23 school year have not been completed.
The Notre Dame football program played in the BCS National Championship Game following the 2012 season and competed in the College Football Playoff semifinals following the 2018 and 2020 seasons under Swarbrick's watch. Beyond Notre Dame, Swarbrick played a leading role in the College Football Playoff's upcoming expansion to 12 teams.
“It has been my privilege to work alongside Jack Swarbrick as he led Notre Dame to unprecedented success over the past 15 years while providing such an influential voice in college athletics," Jenkins said in the university's statement, "and I’m excited that we have such a talented and experienced leader in Pete Bevacqua to spend some time learning under Jack before assuming new leadership in one of America’s most storied athletic programs.
"At this time of great chaos and disruption in college athletics, it will be invaluable to have Pete join Jack and me in charting a future for Notre Dame athletics that allows our student-athletes to play at the highest level, enjoy a full student experience and earn a Notre Dame degree. Having come to know Pete over the years in his work at NBC Sports, I’m looking forward to welcoming him, his wife, Tiffany, and their children — Samantha, Arthur and Jake — to our campus community.”
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