Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick To Step Down; NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua Named Successor

June 8, 2023 by UND.com, CollegeFootballPoll.com staff

An article on the Notre Dame athletics website announced on Thursday that Peter Bevacqua, a 1993 alumnus and chairman of NBC Sports, will succeed Jack Swarbrick as vice president and James E. Rohr as Director of Athletics when he steps down in 2024. Bevacqua will join the University on July 1 of this year as Special Assistant to the President for Athletics under the mentorship of Swarbrick before taking the reins of the athletics department "sometime in the first quarter of 2024".

A statement from Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., said that “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, 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.”

He continued, "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."

Jenkins added, “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.”

Swarbrick commented that “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. 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.”

As for Bevacqua, he weighed-in by saying that “This is an unbelievable honor for me and a dream come true. 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.”

Patricia Bellia, the O’Neill Professor of Law, Faculty Athletics Representative and chair of Notre Dame’s Faculty Board on Athletics, added: “Throughout his tenure as director of athletics, 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. 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.”

Swarbrick will continue to handle the duties of the director of athletics in the coming months while mentoring Bevacqua. The University’s collegiate athletic enterprise is composed of more than 700 student-athletes spread over 26 varsity sports and supported by over 100 coaches and staff.

NBC secured the network's broadcast rights to every Notre Dame home football game in 1991 after the school broke away from the College Football Association and signed a 5-year contract with the network worth $38 million.

The last re-upping of the NBC deal was for $22 annually, but that expires after 2024. The school is said to be seeking $75 million annually for a renewal to be competitive with the the B1G's expected new contract that will pay each member $90 million per year.

Interestingly, Bevacqua could wind up being the guy who terminates the relationship with the network he is leaving.