University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., announced today that Peter Bevacqua, a 1993 alumnus, chairman of NBC Sports and a highly regarded leader and innovator in the world of sports, will succeed Jack Swarbrick as vice president and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics when he steps down in 2024. Bevacqua will join the University on July 1 in the role of Special Assistant to the President for Athletics, benefiting from the mentorship of Swarbrick before he assumes leadership of the athletics department sometime in the first quarter of 2024.
“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,” Father 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.”
“It speaks volumes about Notre Dame and Father 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.”
“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.”
Patricia Bellia, the O’Neill Professor of Law, Faculty Athletics Representative and chair of Notre Dame’s Faculty Board on Athletics, added: “Throughout his tenure as director of athletics, Jack Swarbrick has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to academic integrity and academic excellence, and has been a steadfast partner to the Notre Dame faculty in ensuring that our student-athletes can succeed in the classroom and on the field. Pete Bevacqua shares those commitments, and we look forward to collaborating with him to provide the best environment for Notre Dame student-athletes to flourish as students, athletes and leaders.”
Swarbrick will continue to handle the duties of the director of athletics in the coming months while mentoring Bevacqua. The University’s collegiate athletic enterprise is composed of more than 700 student-athletes spread over 26 varsity sports and supported by over 100 coaches and staff.
Bevacqua will bring world-class leadership and high acumen to the rapidly changing landscape of live and on-demand sports content and sports management. As the third chairman in the history of NBC Sports, Bevacqua led NBC Sports in its unprecedented collection of assets and platforms, which included NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, the Golf Channel, NBC Sports Digital, NBC Sports Next and NBC Sports on Peacock. He also has been the network’s chief steward of NBC’s unique, exclusive broadcast rights agreement with Notre Dame football, now entering its 33rd season. Working closely with Swarbrick over the past five years at NBC has afforded Bevacqua an up-close and real-time look into the rhythms of the University’s athletics business.
Bevacqua also shares Notre Dame’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. He and Troy Vincent, executive vice president of football operations for the NFL, serve as co-chairs of RISE, an alliance of major sports organizations, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and the NCAA that promotes racial equality across the U.S. sports landscape.
Bevacqua’s background and field vision in the world of sports business will be of great value to Notre Dame. He led all aspects and business operations of NBC Sports and was responsible for its overall strategy. Together with his team, Bevacqua completed numerous rights agreements across the national and international sports landscape. Most recently, in August 2022, NBCUniversal and the Big Ten Conference reached a seven-year agreement for NBC and Peacock to become the exclusive home of Big Ten Saturday Night football. In March 2021, NBCUniversal and the NFL agreed to an 11-year extension for NBC Sports to continue as the home of Sunday Night Football, primetime television’s number one show for an unprecedented 12 consecutive years.
In addition to Notre Dame football, Bevacqua also oversaw NBC’s coverage of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, Major League Baseball, the English Premier League, NASCAR, WWE, the Kentucky Derby, IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500, the Tour de France, French Open, USFL and numerous golf properties, including the PGA Tour, USGA Championships, the Men’s and Women’s U.S. Open Championships, LPGA, Ryder Cup and DP World Tour.
He previously served as chief executive officer of the PGA of America, where he guided the business and overall strategy of one of the world’s largest sports organizations. He started his professional career as a corporate law associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York City after earning his degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1997.