Some big news out of South Bend this morning as Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick announced he will step down from his position in 2024. His successor will be current NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua.
“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. 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.”
– Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame President
Swarbrick took over as Notre Dame’s AD in 2008. And after years of struggles in the early 2000s, he helped bring Notre Dame’s football team back to the national spotlight as a perennial Top 10 team. Swarbrick was also an influential voice in the national college sports landscape. He was one of the four main architects of the 12-team college football playoff that will begin in the 2026 season alongside SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson.
One of the crowning achievements of Swarbrick’s tenure was his moving of Notre Dame to the ACC. He did so while maintaining the football team’s independence. All of Notre Dame’s athletic teams made the jump to the ACC. The football team, however, was guaranteed five ACC games each season without having to join the conference fully. Swarbrick oversaw the football head coach hirings of Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman, as well as the basketball hiring of Micah Shrewsberry.
During his time at Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish took home 10 national championships across five sports.
Swarbrick had the following to say about his successor Pete Bevacqua:
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.
Bevacqua will begin with Notre Dame officially as a special assistant on July 1st and be integrated into the position. Notre Dame and NBC have had a long-time relationship. The network has housed Notre Dame home football games for several years in addition to a handful of hockey games. Bevacqua also played a role in picking up a rights agreement to bring Big Ten football to NBC.
Bevacqua, a 1993 Notre Dame graduate and former punter for the football team, released the following:
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.
Inevitably, questions about Notre Dame’s football independence will arise with this move. Swarbrick has long been insistent that the Fighting Irish maintain the tradition of football independence. The Big Ten, however, is rapidly expanding and has coveted Notre Dame for quite some time. Bevacqua does clearly have a relationship with the Big Ten. It does seem for now at least he’s a fan of Notre Dame remaining independent.
“I’m a fan of independence, for sure. It’s another element of what makes Notre Dame different. I think those differentiators for Notre Dame are more important and more valuable today than they’ve ever been.”
The college football landscape is changing every day. It does seem like Notre Dame will remain independent for at least the near future. Though I would say given NBC’s relationship with the Big Ten, if the Irish do decide to join a conference, the Big Ten would be a frontrunner.