Tag: Jack Swarbrick

Rev. Robert Dowd officially begins tenure as Notre Dame president

Best of luck to Father Bob.

June has begun and so has a new era in Notre Dame’s long history. The [autotag]Rev. Robert Dowd[/autotag] officially has succeeded the [autotag]Rev. John Jenkins[/autotag] as the 18th president in the university’s history. Dowd, affectionately known as Father Bob, was greeted appropriately on social media:

Dowd’s time as president comes at a very interesting time in the university’s history. In March, [autotag]Pete Bevacqua[/autotag] took over the athletic department for [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag]. That’s two big changes for the university in only a few months.

This also is happening at a time when college football is at a crossroads with the advent of NIL and the expanded College Football Playoff. For most of Notre Dame’s other sports, the future of the ACC somewhat is concerning as it risks being swallowed by the new super conferences in the SEC and Big Ten.

The problem for Dowd and Bevacqua is how to navigate Notre Dame through all these changes that are coming faster than anyone keep up. As long as wins come, Irish fans will be happy. They need to recognize that.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Pete Bavacqua officially takes over as Notre Dame athletic director

A new age has dawned at the university.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] era at Notre Dame officially has come to an end. Taking over as athletic director starting Monday was [autotag]Pete Bevacqua[/autotag], and the athletic department was quick to recognize that on social media:

The only athletic event on the Notre Dame schedule for the day was the women’s basketball team’s game against Ole Miss for the second of the NCAA Tournament. Fittingly, it took place at Purcell Pavilion. It served as a reminder of how much Notre Dame athletics thrived under Swarbrick and what Bevacqua has to build upon.

We don’t know what the future holds for the university’s athletic programs, but we know that overall, the outlook is as rosy as it’s ever been. So for the moment at least, Bevacqua deserves the benefit of the doubt as he settles into his new role. Best of luck to him, and we can’t wait to see how the programs do under his leadership.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

5 Stars: The best and the worst of Notre Dame’s win over Stanford

Once again, a lot of good for the Irish

The Irish really didn’t need to do much to defeat Stanford, as long as they played an average game, it should be a Notre Dame win. That’s exactly what happened, although you could argue that it wasn’t an average game for the Irish but a very good regular season win. There once again wasn’t too much to complain about, but here are the best, 5 stars, and worst, 1 star, performances for the Irish against the Cardinal.

Notre Dame athletic director stands by football independence

Fitting for him to say this on the same week as Independence Day.

Seemingly every few months different college football programs nationally align themselves with new conferences and included in nearly every reactionary piece written or spoken is “what does it mean for Notre Dame?”

Whether its Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC or USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, anytime a move happens the world wants to know what it means for Notre Dame.

Well, according to the current Notre Dame athletic director, not a single thing. Tyler Horka of On3.com sat down with Jack Swarbrick recently and his words don’t make it appear independence is going away for the Irish anytime soon.

“Every one of these stories is about us. What’s Notre Dame going to do? It’s reinforcing our positioning.

“There have been times when people thought giving [independence] up was inevitable. I don’t get that sense right now.”

Of course the two key words in that whole comment are “right now”.  Obviously, things can change and force Notre Dame’s hand, but that doesn’t seem the case for the time being.

If all things are equal, or at least in the same ballpark, Notre Dame won’t change independence anytime soon.  Until the difference in TV-money is too great or the ability to compete for a national championship goes away, this won’t be changing anytime soon.

Much to the chagrin of pretty much anyone without a connection to the Notre Dame program.

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Notre Dame athletic director blasts latest run of conference realignment

Strong comments from the out-going AD…

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick doesn’t have all that long left on the job but joined the Dan Patrick Show from Ireland on Wednesday.  He was asked by Patrick about the latest part of realignment in college football and certainly didn’t mince words.

“[It’s a] complete disaster. I wish I knew (how it got to this point”

“Everybody in the industry has to take responsibility here. I’m not excluding myself from that. I think the decision making has lost its way in terms of the focus on the student-athlete and what’s primarily best for them. But we are where we are, we have to try and make it work.”

-Jack Swarbrick to Dan Patrick Show

Swarbrick also took a further stand on Notre Dame’s football independence, saying that the only things that would change that are the lack of a media partner and no fair shot to the College Football Playoff.

Swarbrick added that Notre Dame is indeed lobbying hard for Stanford and Cal to join the ACC and that realignment decisions of late have been “based on money”.

See some social media reaction to the comments and latest in college athletics realignment below.

College football realignment: Why Notre Dame is pushing for Cal and Stanford to join ACC

College football is just weeks from kicking off the 2023 season but all the buzz is on conference realignment.

Reports that Notre Dame was pushing hard for Cal and Stanford to join the ACC came out Wednesday and left many wondering why. I was among those, but at the end of the day the answer was pretty simple – and one that will certainly ruffle the feathers of some.

It’s called “doing the right thing.”

Notre Dame athletic director [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] told ESPN’s Heather Dinich on Thursday exactly why he was interested in those two joining the ACC.  In a college sports world that is run even more by money than ever before, Swarbrick sees a real problem.

“The notion that two of the very best academic institutions in the world who also play DI sports could be abandoned in this latest chapter of realignment is an indictment of college athletics,” Swarbrick told Dinich

I get that Stanford and Cal aren’t Oregon or USC in terms of football, but they aren’t Arizona or Colorado historically, either. We’re only a decade removed from Stanford being a Rose Bowl regular and national championship contender, while Cal under Jeff Tedford went to seven straight bowl games from 2003-2009.

The surprising part of Stanford being left in the dust is it may not be a football or men’s basketball powerhouse right now but when you go across all sports you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more successful athletic program nationally. The university competes for national titles in just about everything besides those two sports. How is that not appealing?

As absurd as the idea of having two of the top institutions in the nation, both of which who call the West Coast home, playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference is, I for one hope it ends up happening.

College athletics and the ACC will be better if it does.

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Heather Dinich: Conference realignment means nothing for Notre Dame

Don’t worry, Irish fans.

To put it mildly, college football is in chaos. The Pac-12 is about to become extinct or is seriously threatened at the very least.

Oregon and Washington will join USC and UCLA in the Big Ten in 2024. Colorado is rejoining the Big 12 in 2024, and we now know Arizona, Arizona State, Utah also are heading there as well.

What does this mean for Notre Dame?

If college football insiders are to be believed, absolutely nothing. As part of a series of questions published on ESPN’s website, Heather Dinich was asked to tackle the evergreen issue of the Irish’s independence and how it applies to the changing college football climate. If you’re worried about the Irish giving into public pressure and joining a conference permanently, Dinich says don’t be:

“Notre Dame athletic director [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] has long repeated the same three factors that could contribute to the university’s position as an independent becoming ‘unsustainable.’

Those include: the loss of a committed broadcast partner; the loss of a fair route into the postseason; or such an adverse financial consequence that would force it to reconsider.

In spite of all of the drama swirling around Notre Dame, nothing has impacted those particular factors. Notre Dame still has a strong partnership with NBC as its broadcast partner that runs through the 2025 season. It recently announced a renewed commitment to Under Armour. It also remains a partial member of the ACC in football and has a contract with the league stating that if the Irish were to relinquish their independence, it would be for the ACC.

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said recently at the league’s media days that he knows how much the Irish value their independence. Notre Dame still remains the most valuable property remaining on the Monopoly board – and it’s still not for sale.”

Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune expressed similar thoughts earlier in the day. So sleep easy, Irish fans. The program is not changing its affiliation or lack thereof anytime soon. Besides, conferences need the Irish more than the Irish need them.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Report: Notre Dame closing in on apparel decision, who is in play?

Who do you want to see the Irish sign with?

The biggest free agent in the collegiate apparel industry right now is [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag].

One of the most recognizable names in college and all of sports has a huge decision in front of them. Outgoing athletic director [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] is in charge of making a deal and recently sat down with The Athletic’s Pete Sampson do discuss where the Irish boss is leaning.

Swarbrick told Sampson that a decision will most likely be made in July, meaning we will all know very soon what the Irish will wear next. He also said that they have not ruled out anyone, including Nike and Jordan.

This might be a last major move that Swarbrick makes and it will have a significant impact on Notre Dame athletics. I ranked which companies that I would like the see the Irish wearing a little while back and it’s good to see Nike and Jordan being vetted.

We will soon find out if the Irish stick with Under Armour or make a change to someone new.

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Marcus Freeman ‘was in complete shock’ about Jack Swarbrick news

What was your reaction to the news?

When [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] announced that he would depart as Notre Dame athletic director in 2024, [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] didn’t expect it. In fact, that would be putting it mildly. In a discussion with NDInsider.com, Freeman was asked whether he knew the news was coming, and he said the following:

“No, I didn’t know (in advance). I knew at some point Jack Swarbrick was going to say, ‘This is it.’ And he’s told me that and (Notre Dame President) Father John (Jenkins) has told me at some point (in) this thing, ‘Hey, we’re getting to the end of our time here at Notre Dame.”

Freeman then added:

“I just did not expect it to be last week when we had this conversation. I was in complete shock.”

Freeman also said a few other things about Swarbrick, but you get the idea. Hopefully, after Swarbrick’s departure, he’ll have a good relationship with incoming athletic director [autotag]Pete Bevacqua[/autotag]. Perhaps then, he’ll be able to do everything he wants with the program and more. That’s not necessarily to say Swarbrick doesn’t do that, but there’s at least the hope that Bevacqua will give his coaches a little more freedom.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Breaking: Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick to step down

The Irish athletic director will move on next year

[autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] athletic director [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag]’s time is running out.

In a report by Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, Swarbrick will step down as the Irish athletic director in 2024 and be succeeded by NBC Sports Group chairman [autotag]Pete Bevacqua[/autotag].

Swarbrick has run the athletic department since 2008, taking over for Kevin White who left for Duke. The alumnus was behind helping the Irish keep up with the ever evolving college athletics world.

He was behind the additions to Notre Dame Stadium, Fighting Irish Media, bringing in other major events to South Bend while helping the launch of the ACC Network and extending the NBC deal for Notre Dame as well.

Bevacqua is a second-generation Irish alum and told Forde “this is a dream come true.” At this point the exact date of him taking over for Swarbrick is unknown, but it will happen in 2024. Bevacqua will start the transition on July 1 as a special assistant for athletics to Notre Dame President Reverend John Jenkins.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

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