Pete Bevacqua: Notre Dame's independent status is 'more valuable than ever'

The changing of the guard at Notre Dame came at an interesting time for college football, to say the least. Conference realignment shook things up in a big way last calendar year and the College Football Playoff is closing in on a new revenue-sharing model, which has an impact on the Fighting Irish.

All the while, in South Bend, a transition was starting. Jack Swarbrick is off to retirement, and Pete Bevacqua – a former Notre Dame football player and NBC Sports executive – is in as athletics director. He inherits an independent football program, one of just a few remaining with UMass preparing to join the MAC.

One thing’s for certain, though. Bevacqua, like Swarbrick, values Notre Dame’s independent status. And it doesn’t sound like that’s going to change in the new landscape.

“We are now in as good of a position as we’ve ever been in the modern era of college football to be independent,” Bevacqua told ESPN’s Heather Dinich. “You see all the conference realignment, you see everything that’s happened, I think our position as being independent in football quite frankly is certainly more unique than ever, but also more valuable than ever.”

Pete Bevacqua: CFP revenue puts Notre Dame in ‘stronger position’

Bevacqua, of course, isn’t new in the Notre Dame athletics offices. He came on board as a special assistant to the AD last year as part of the transition from Swarbrick. That means he was in the building as conversations went on with the CFP regarding expansion, revenue-sharing and media rights.

Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger recently reported the breakdown of the proposed new revenue model. The Big Ten and SEC would each receive 29% of the base revenue, while the Big 12 and ACC get 17.1% and 14.7%, respectively. That leaves 9% left for the G5 conferences, 1% for Notre Dame and less than 1% for UConn, Oregon State and Washington State.

While Bevacqua didn’t get into specifics about those discussions, he said the payouts from the CFP fit in well with the revenue Notre Dame is receiving from the ACC Network and NBC. The Fighting Irish recently re-upped the football-only NBC deal, which now runs through the 2029 season. While financial terms were not disclosed for the new agreement, the previous contract paid out roughly $22 million per year.

“Our dollar figure that’s derived from the CFP for us is quite strong, plus the fact we have the ability to earn additional revenue in the instances where we make the CFP, which puts us in an even stronger position,” Bevacqua said. “So when you step back and look at the totality of those three elements – the NBC relationship, the ACC Network relationship and the CFP – we’re in an incredibly strong position relative to the rest of the college sports world.”

‘We accept’ pressure at Notre Dame

As one of the higher-profile football programs in the country, Pete Bevacqua also noted the high expectations Notre Dame faces. The Fighting Irish have the fourth-most wins in college football history, but haven’t won a national championship since 1988 under Lou Holtz.

But Bevacqua said that didn’t deter him from taking over at his alma mater. In fact, he’s embracing the pressure, and his goal for Marcus Freeman’s group reflects that.

“That pressure has been on Notre Dame since Knute Rockne,” he said. “That’s not a pressure quite frankly we shy away from. That’s a pressure we accept. As a lifelong Notre Dame fan and as an alumnus, we thrive on that pressure. There’s an understanding that Notre Dame football – maybe more than anywhere else in the country, certainly as much as anywhere else in the country – is part of the DNA of this university.

“We know that is a key priority of ours [is] not only to stay relevant, but quite frankly to win a national championship and be the best.”