NBC Sports chair to succeed Swarbrick as Notre Dame AD
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The University of Notre Dame announced Thursday that Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick will step down in the first quarter of 2024. And his successor has already been named; NBC Sports Group Chairman Peter Bevacqua is set to take over as AD next year but will begin preparing for the role next month.
Bevacqua, a 1993 graduate of Notre Dame, will serve as special assistant to the president for athletics with Swarbrick providing mentorship before he assumes the AD position.
“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,” Bevacqua said in a news release. “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 has served as NBC Sports Group’s third chairman since 2018 and has served as the network’s chief steward of its exclusive broadcast rights agreement with Notre Dame football, which is now in its 33rd season.
He also oversaw NBC’s coverage of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500, the English Premier League, Major League Baseball, and many other sports properties. Prior to joining NBC, Bevacqua served as CEO of the PGA of America.
The university said Bevacqua’s work with Swarbrick over the past five years has given him an up-close look into Notre Dame’s athletics business.
“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,” Swarbrick said.
Notre Dame said Swarbrick will continue to handle AD duties in the coming months, but did not provide a specific date for him to step down.
Swarbrick is now in his 15th year as the James E. Rohr Director of Athletics at Notre Dame.
Before his run at Notre Dame, Swarbrick, 69, was a prominent attorney in Indianapolis who served as chairman of the Indiana Sports Corp. He helped convince the NCAA to relocate its headquarters to Indianapolis and the NFL to hold the Super Bowl in Indianapolis in 2012. Early in his career, he was competition director for the 1987 Pan Am Games.
The university credits Swarbrick with overseeing several major initiatives, including developing a plan to make Notre Dame Stadium a year-round venue, the expansion of the stadium with three new structures, and hosting major events such as two Garth Brooks concerts, the NHL Winter Classic in 2019, and an international soccer match between Liverpool and Dortmund.
“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,” said Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins.
Notre Dame’s athletics department includes more than 700 student-athletes sin 26 varsity sports with over 100 coaches and staff.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.