Notre Dame’s Jack Swarbrick, a titan in college athletics, has signaled the end to his reign atop the University of Notre Dame is formally on the horizon.
Swarbrick is stepping down from atop Fighting Irish athletics in a year.
The news first was reported by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde and confirmed by additional sources to FootballScoop.
NBC’s Pete Bevacqua, the network's current sports chairman, already has been tabbed to replace Swarbrick upon Swarbrick’s retirement.
“This is a dream come true,” Bevacqua told SI. “With the exception of my family, nothing means more to me than Notre Dame.
“I don’t have a memory in my lifetime, quite literally, where Notre Dame wasn’t a part of it. At this stage of my life, I feel like everything I’ve done has prepared me for this.”
Bevacqua will be entering into a Notre Dame athletics community that has experienced remarkable success across multiple sports in recent years; Notre Dame’s men’s lacrosse team just captured its first-ever national championship to cap the most recent season.
The Fighting Irish under Swarbrick also have dramatically reshaped their most prominent sports program’s in recent years – and hired wildly popular minority coaches each time.
In December 2021, Swarbrick tabbed Marcus Freeman to replace Brian Kelly after Kelly jettisoned the Irish for LSU. Prior to that when legendary women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw retired, Niele Ivey was placed atop the program.
Earlier this spring, Swarbrick landed Micah Shrewsberry, a former Boston Celtics and Butler Bulldogs assistant coach who most recently turned around Penn State basketball, to replace Mike Brey.
After Link Jarrett led Notre Dame to its first college world series appearance in more than two decades during its 2022 run, Jarrett left for his alma mater, Florida State, and Swarbrick hired Shawn Stiffler to replace Jarrett.
"It speaks volumes about Notre Dame and Father (John) Jenkins' leadership that we can implement such a well-conceived succession plan and attract someone of Pete's talent and experience," Swarbrick said in Notre Dame's release. "I have worked closely with Pete throughout his time at NBA 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."
Oh, and for what this means for the future of Notre Dame athletics, well read into this quote as you may.
Incoming Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua, to SI: "“I’m a fan of independence, for sure. It’s another element of what makes Notre Dame different."
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) June 8, 2023