Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 MAY 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED W ith little fanfare and no elaborate celebration, Notre Dame ath- letics director Jack Swarbrick became the former Notre Dame athlet- ics director March 25, when he quietly passed the AD baton to Pete Bevacqua in a scheduled transition that was an- nounced last June. It's hard to believe that 16 years passed between the day Swarbrick was introduced as Kevin White's successor and the recent transfer of power that made Bevacqua the 12th athletics direc- tor in Notre Dame history. For those in attendance in July 2008, when Swarbrick was introduced during a ceremony on the top floor of the Hes- burgh Library on campus, what they re- member most from that day is how the 1976 Notre Dame graduate cryptically explained that unprecedented changes were coming to college athletics, and coming fast. "Unrecognizable" and "seismic" were a couple of words Swarbrick used to de- scribe the winds of change that were swirling. Most of us media members left Swarbrick's gathering kind of scratch- ing our heads. Sixteen years later, we get it now. Swarbrick, 70, could be best de- scribed as a pioneer, a visionary, a guardian and maybe even a soothsayer. Swarbrick protected Notre Dame's football independence vigorously dur- ing a time of conference realignment when many outsiders said he couldn't hold onto it. A n d e ve n a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t , Swarbrick still kept Notre Dame firmly in the college football playoff mix, much to the dismay of other envious athlet- ics directors and university presidents around the country. Swarbrick's voice and lead became so respected, he was one of only four play- off management committee members who designed and proposed a 12-team playoff, a model set to begin this post- season that still neatly positions Notre Dame for inclusion, even without any conference affiliation. In addition to protecting inde- p e n d e n c e a n d p l ayo f f re l eva n c e , Swarbrick's COVID management in a pinch during the summer of 2020 was also brilliant when he made Fight- ing Irish football a one-year honorary member in the Atlantic Coast Confer- ence to protect a Fighting Irish football season that was very much in jeopardy because of opponent cancellations driven by Notre Dame's national sched- uling philosophy. Spearheading the $400 million Cam- pus Crossroads project in 2014 — to im- prove Notre Dame Stadium, better uti- lize the space at the heart of campus and to enhance the on-campus experience — was another memorable achievement under Swarbrick's watch. As was the negotiating prowess Swarbrick demonstrated in 2012, when he found a way to relocate his non-rev- enue athletics programs from the dying Big East to the thriving ACC. Need more? Let's talk about his no- table hires. In the span of only about 14 months between November 2021 and Janu- ary 2023, Swarbrick was tasked with replacing Notre Dame's all-time win- ningest head coaches in football (Brian Kelly), women's basketball (Muffet Mc- Graw) and men's basketball (Mike Brey). Swarbrick responded with what appears to be three home-run hires in Marcus Freeman (football), Niele Ivey (women's basketball) and Micah Shrewsberry (men's basketball), three moves that made Notre Dame one of a small and select group of universities with three minority coaches overseeing these three prominent programs. U p o n h i s o f f i c i a l r e t i r e m e n t , Swarbrick vowed to not linger or hang around his old office and to make him- self scarce moving forward. But Freeman explained that he has no plans to take his former boss off of speed dial. "Jack is a phone call away," Freeman said. "We'll always have a relationship. I'll always use the wisdom that he has." Of course, a 16-year career in any oc- cupation is going to bring its share of low points. It would be remiss not to mention that Swarbrick's rock bottom came in 2010 when 20-year-old Notre Dame junior Declan Sullivan climbed a scissor lift to film football practice on a day when winds were gusting up to 50 miles per hour. That decision to put Sullivan in that position cost a young videographer his life when the lift blew over, an avoidable incident on a day that Swarbrick regret- tably described as "unremarkable." Swarbrick's reputation eventually healed from his insensitive categori- zation, in no small part because of his adept handling of the situations and events to follow. During the most turbulent time in the history of "amateur" athlet- ics, Swarbrick always managed to call his own shots, never blink and always smoothly navigate through it. "The unique part will be if Jack is not here, he isn't going to be able to stay away," Freeman said. "I told him he can have my office. He's going to be around here." Maybe not always in person, but for- ever in legacy. ✦ Swarbrick proved to be both clairvoyant and shre wd during his 16-year tenure as Notre Dame's athletics director. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Jack Swarbrick, And His Legacy, Will Carry On UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com