How social media reacted to Jack Swarbrick stepping down as Notre Dame’s athletics director

Notre Dame will have a new director spearheading its athletics sometime between January and March 2024. On Thursday, the University of Notre Dame announced that director of athletics Jack Swarbrick will step down after 15 years.

The University of Notre Dame also announced that the chairman of NBC Sports, Peter Bevacqua, would succeed Swarbrick as the 13th Fighting Irish athletic director.

Bevacqua, a 1993 graduate of Nore Dame, will begin working for the university as a special assistant to the president for athletics on July 1. He will assume Swarbrick’s position when he steps down sometime within the next 7-9 months.

“This is an unbelievable honor for me and a dream come true,” Bevacqua said in a statement. “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.”

The announcement of Swarbrick’s departure sparked an extensive reaction. Here’s what …

Social media reacts to Jack Swarbrick stepping down from Notre Dame, the Irish hiring Pete Bevacqua

Brady Quinn played quarterback for Notre Dame from 2003-06.

Sad to see @NotreDameAD stepping down. He’s been a driving force in College Sports in a multitude of ways. Thank you for all you have done Jack! @NotreDame couldn’t have found a better replacement than Pete Bevacqua! #GoIrish

— Brady Quinn (@Brady_Quinn) June 8, 2023

Mike Golic Jr. is a podcast host of the GoJo Show at Draft Kings. He played at Notre Dame from 2008-12, which were Swarbrick’s first five years at the university.

makes a ton of sense and follows the pattern we’ve seen in collegiate athletics leadership hires recently https://t.co/bFQ5jaXCd0

— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) June 8, 2023

Pete Byrne is the sports director at WSBT.

Thoughts on Bevacqua:

Robust resume.

I had many interactions with him when his work with PGA brought him to Michiana for Sr. PGA Champ. Always found Pete sharp & sincere.

And frequently found opportunities during our golf chats to swap stories from our time at ND.

Great hire https://t.co/sZV2ujBZjS

— Pete Byrne WSBT (@PeteByrneSports) June 8, 2023

Dennis Dodd covers college football for CBS Sports.

If you count ND AD as a P5 commish — which you should — that makes 5 of the last 7 P5 commishes from TV or marketing. Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua to succeed Jack Swarbrick https://t.co/LMOd1ewFGM

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) June 8, 2023

Vic Lombardi hosts the Denver Nuggets’ pre-game, halftime, and post-game broadcasts. He is a 1991 graduate of Notre Dame.

WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!

Went to school with Pete. Lived in the same dorm. He will do Notre Dame proud. A great Domer. https://t.co/SNWFxjQcaV

— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) June 8, 2023

Steve Lauletta is the president of Pigeon Sports Marketing. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1986.

Couldn’t more more excited for this succession plan. Congrats to Pete and thank you to Jack for the great work setting up the future success @NotreDame #GoIrish https://t.co/Eg4PkOat4s

— Steve Lauletta (@slauletta) June 8, 2023

LEAD1 represents the athletics directors of the 133 member universities of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). It was founded in 1986 and formerly known as the Division 1A Athletic Directors Association,

It’s been a pleasure working with Jack Swarbrick, @FightingIrish AD, who has announced that he will retire in 2024. Jack has been instrumental in shaping LEAD1 Association, and a true visionary in regard to the issues facing college sports. Thank you, Jack, for your leadership. https://t.co/ohhQGpgnBP

— LEAD1 Association (@lead1acom) June 8, 2023

Joe Favorito is a lecturer at Columbia School of Professional Studies.

What an amazing career Pete Bevacqua has had. Great person & a really interesting choice as the job of athletic director continues to evolve beyond what was the traditional. #sportsbiz #media #NotreDame https://t.co/kc5n2Gcqik

— Joe Favorito (@joefav) June 8, 2023

Amanda Christovich is an author at Front Office Sports.

My immediate thoughts: Does this make it MORE probable that Notre Dame would join another conference, like the Big Ten? Or less?

In order to do so, Notre Dame needs to be offered a media deal that’s more lucrative than its current exclusive FB deal w NBC. https://t.co/eEucK9hpC8

— Amanda Christovich (@achristovichh) June 8, 2023

Andrew Hammond is the sports editor for AL.com.

College sports in 2023….TV executives becoming athletic directors. https://t.co/6SgUpxDol5

— Andrew Hammond (@ahammALDC) June 8, 2023

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