Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick to step down in 2024, NBC exec to succeed

There will be a major shake-up in the college athletics world, courtesy of news out of Notre Dame regarding athletics director Jack Swarbrick.

Swarbrick will step down from his post in 2024, Notre Dame announced in a press release on Thursday morning. The Fighting Irish already have his replacement lined up, with NBC Sports Group chairman Pete Bevacqua set to take over.

Swarbrick has been the Notre Dame athletics director since 2008, when he was appointed to replace Kevin White, who departed for the same job at Duke.

“It speaks volumes about Notre Dame and Father (John I.) Jenkins‘ leadership that we can implement such a well-conceived succession plan and attract someone of Pete’s talent and experience,” Swarbrick said. “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.”

Under Swarbrick’s leadership, the Notre Dame football team has made the College Football Playoffs twice, appearing during the 2018 season and the 2020 season. The Fighting Irish remain a staple in college athletics.

Bevacqua will be tasked with keeping things humming at a high level, particularly as conference realignment continues and money from television deals continues to increase.

“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. “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.”

Jenkins, the Notre Dame president, also commented on the pending switch in athletics directors, thanking Swarbick on his way out and welcoming Bevacqua to the fold.

“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,” Jenkins said.

“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.”