He’s a member of the University of Notre Dame’s Class of 1993 and is known as a highly regarded sports world leader who until now has served as Chairman of NBC Sports.
As of July 1, Pete Bevacqua is heading back to South Bend, Ind.
That’s when Bevacqua will succeed Jack Swarbick as vice president. But, there’s much more: he will succeed James E. Rohr as the school’s Director of Athletics when he steps down in 2024.
As such, Bevacqua will join the storied university 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 next year.
Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins said, “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.”
Bevacqua commented, “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. 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.”
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.
