NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua Returning To Notre Dame As VP-AD
Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 09:09PM By Barry Janoff
June 8, 2023: Describing it as “a dream come true,” Pete Bevacqua, chairman for NBC Sports, said today he would be leaving the network to become vp and AD for Notre Dame.
Bevacqua, a 1993 graduate of the University, joined NBC Sports as its president in 2018. He previously served as CEO for the PGA of America.
Bevacqua will succeed Jack Swarbrick as vice president in the first quarter of 2024 and James E. Rohr as AD 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.
Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal TV and Streaming, will assume responsibility for the sports division until a permanent replacement is named.
NBC’s exclusive broadcast rights agreement with Notre Dame football, now entering its 33rd season, meant Bevacqua has “worked closely with Swarbrick over the past five years at NBC (and) afforded him an up-close and real-time look into the rhythms of the University’s athletics business,” according Notre Dame.
"This is an unbelievable honor for me and a dream come true,” Bevacqua said via Notre Dame. “With the exception of my family, nothing means more to me than the University of Notre Dame.
“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.”
Bevacqua has overseen assets and platforms including NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, the Golf Channel, NBC Sports Digital, NBC Sports Next and NBC Sports on Peacock. 
“Anyone who knows Pete will tell you that other than his family, Notre Dame is his next greatest love, and now he has been given the opportunity to have a huge impact on their storied sports programs and the institution in general,” Lazarus said via NBCU.
Notre Dame said Swarbrick would “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 more than 100 coaches and staff.
"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,” Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., said via the university.
“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.”
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