SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame’s director of athletics since July 2008, has arrived at a succession plan.
Pete Bevacqua, chairman of NBC Sports, will join Notre Dame on July 1 and spend the rest of the year learning the ropes of modern athletic administration before Swarbrick steps down in early 2024, the university announced Thursday.
Swarbrick, a Notre Dame graduate and longtime power broker on the NCAA’s rapidly changing landscape, turned 69 in March. In recent years he has guided the major sports programs of the Irish through multiple coaching transitions, hiring new head coaches for football (Marcus Freeman), men’s basketball (Micah Shrewsberry), women’s basketball (Niele Ivey) and baseball (Shawn Stiffler).
A 1993 Notre Dame graduate and briefly a walk-on punter for coach Lou Holtz, Bevacqua’s transitional title will be special assistant to the president for athletics.
“At a time of great chaos and disruption in college athletics,” Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins said in a statement, “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.”
NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua ’93 has been named Special Assistant to the President for Athletics.
He will assume the position of University Vice President & James E. Rohr Director of Athletics upon Jack Swarbrick’s ’76 departure in 2024.https://t.co/nQxIPcQ9RQ#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/fimF79pCDD
— University of Notre Dame (@NotreDame) June 8, 2023
Named in September 2020 as the third chairman in NBC Sports history, the 51-year-old Bevacqua has become a known quantity at Notre Dame over the past five years as the network and the university work to extend a broadcast agreement that is entering its 33rd football season this fall.
Bevacqua, who holds a law degree from Georgetown, previously served as NBC Sports president since 2018 after a six-year stint as CEO of the PGA of America.
“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 statement. “I have worked closely with Pete throughout his time at NBC. 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.”
A native of Bedford, New York, Bevacqua and wife Tiffany have three children.
“This is an unbelievable honor for me and a dream come true,” Bevacqua said in a statement. “With the exception of my family, nothing means more to me than the University of Notre Dame. … 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.”
Notre Dame law professor Patricia Bellia, faculty athletics representative and chair of Notre Dame’s faculty board on athletics, praised the move.
“Jack Swarbrick has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to academic integrity and academic excellence and has been a steadfast partner to the Notre Dame faculty in ensuring that our student-athletes can succeed in the classroom and on the field,” Bellia said in a statement. “Pete Bevacqua shares those commitments, and we look forward to collaborating with him to provide the best environment for Notre Dame student-athletes to flourish as students, athletes and leaders.”