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Newsstand: What new Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua said about college athletics

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•03/28/24•

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bevacqua (1)
Pete Bevacqua (right) gestures to Notre Dame Fighting Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick (left) after Notre Dame defeated the Tennessee State Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium. Bevacqua was named special assistant to the president for athletics at Notre Dame and will take over as athletic director in 2024. (Photo by Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports)

Almost exactly one year ago, in March of 2023, then-Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick penned a New York Times opinion piece about the state of college athletics. He wrote that it was “in crisis.”

Five months later, on the Dan Patrick Show in Dublin, Ireland, leading up to the Fighting Irish’s season-opener against Navy, Swarbrick took his stance a few steps further.

He said college athletics was a “complete disaster.”

Those quotes, of course, were in response to the changing landscape heavily influenced by the out-of-control nature of name, image and likeness (NIL) and money-hungry conference realignment moves.

Swarbrick has long been a supporter of NIL — in its truest form. Pay for play and the unregulated mayhem that comes with it is where Swarbrick drew a line. And that, in part, pushed the now 70-year-old out of the Notre Dame administrative sphere after over a dozen years at the helm as AD.

In comes fresh blood in the form of Pete Bevacqua, not too far over 50, as his replacement. His first official day on the job was Monday. That’s when he told the Wake Up the Echoes podcast that he’s up for the challenge of navigating the chaotic climate of college athletics.

“I love the chaos,” Bevacqua said. “Notre Dame is what attracted me to this role, but the chaos did too. Knowing that we’re going to have to be on our toes, we can’t be caught flat-footed. We’re all biased here; we think Notre Dame is the best, and it is, but is has an unbelievable voice in these issues and in this space, and a very unique voice. And that’s important.”

In short, the Irish are led by a man who’s willing to take an ever-changing culture head-on. He’s always going to work for what’s best for the school and its student-athletes, and there is some comfort to be had in that for Blue & Gold faithful.

Notre Dame tweets of the day

Senior quarterback Riley Leonard is out of spring practices for the time being.

Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love is getting some run at wide receiver.

Junior guard Sonia Citron is a certified scorer.

Quote of the day

“Bringing the ball up the court, you can’t really be thinking about what play you’re going to run. You have to be aware of where she is. You have to be careful bringing it up because she can take it from you at any time. Even when you think you’re past her, she’ll probably take it from you.”

— Irish women’s basketball guard Sarah Cernugel on being guarded by ACC Defensive Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo

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