Pete Bevacqua
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Athletic director |
| Team | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | 1971 (age 52–53) Bedford, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Notre Dame (BA) Georgetown University (JD) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2024–present | Notre Dame |
Peter P. Bevacqua (born 1971) is an American corporate, media, and sports executive who is the athletic director at the University of Notre Dame.[1] He previously served as president and chairman of NBC Sports between 2018 and 2023.[2] Before joining NBC Sports, Bevacqua spent six years as the CEO of the Professional Golfers' Association of America.[3]
Early life
[edit]Bevacqua grew up in Bedford, New York. He began playing golf at a young age with his father, Arthur Bevacqua, a dentist. He attended Brunswick School in nearby Greenwich, Connecticut where he was valedictorian, senior class president and an all-league player in football, basketball and golf.[4] He began caddying at the Bedford Golf and Tennis Club at age 10, training under head pro Walt Ronan, and continued to work summers there as a caddie and pro shop manager while attending the University of Notre Dame. He was also a walk-on punter for head football coach Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, where he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English in 1993.[5] He then earned a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, graduating cum laude in 1997.
Professional career
[edit]Bevacqua began his professional career as a legal associate at Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP in New York City before joining the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 2001. He first served as the USGA's in-house counsel for two years. He was then promoted to USGA's first-ever managing director of the U.S. Open. In 2009, Bevacqua was appointed as the USGA's chief business officer. Bevacqua left USGA for CAA Sports three years later, in 2012, where he served as Global Head of Golf. He was appointed as the CEO of the PGA in fall 2012. He subsequently signed to two contract extensions, one in November 2013 and another in November 2017, which was due to carry him through 2024.[3]
In October 2013, Bevacqua successfully negotiated a 15-year media rights extension through 2030 with NBC Sports for the Ryder Cup, Senior PGA Championship and PGA Professional Championship. In 2014, the PGA designed and implemented a long-term strategic plan that focused on two main goals: to better serve PGA members and to increase public interest in golf. Alan Shipnuck of Golf.com described Bevacqua's vision as, "... growing the game to create more opportunities for PGA pros, embracing new technology to make the membership more relevant, and improving communication with the national headquarters to make the pros feel more valued".[5] Bevacqua was appointed as the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors' Chairman in 2015. In that role he helped the International Golf Federation reinstate golf in the Olympics, beginning with the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In August 2017, Bevacqua announced that, beginning in 2019, the PGA Championship would be conducted annually in May for the first time in 70 years.[6]
Comcast NBCUniversal promoted Bevacqua to chairman, NBC Sports in September 2020. He was NBC Sports' third chairman. He oversaw NBC Sports’ collection of assets and platforms including NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio, NBC Sports Digital, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine.
In June 2023, Notre Dame president Fr. John I. Jenkins announced that Bevacqua would replace Jack Swarbrick as athletic director in early 2024. Bevacqua served as a special assistant to the president for athletics before officially taking over on March 25.[7]
A former SportsBusiness Journal “Forty Under 40” Award recipient in 2009, Bevacqua was honored with the prestigious “Sports Leadership Award” by the March of Dimes in November 2016.
He is a board member of RISE, an alliance of sports organizations that promotes racial equality. Bevacqua is also on the board of directors of Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT
Bevacqua is a Member of the Board of Visitors with the Georgetown University Law Center.
Personal life
[edit]Bevacqua and his wife, Tiffany, have one daughter and two sons.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Pete Bevacqua to succeed Jack Swarbrick as Notre Dame AD". June 8, 2023.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (July 24, 2018). "Peter Bevacqua Named President of NBC Sports". Variety. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- ^ a b "PGA of America extends contract of CEO Pete Bevacqua through 2024". PGA of America. November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ "Pete Bevacqua, new PGA of America CEO, 'lives for family, golf and Notre Dame football'". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ a b "New leadership: PGA's search for Bevacqua". Golfweek. January 25, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ a b "Peter Bevacqua, PGA of America Leaders". PGA of America. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
- ^ "Pete Bevacqua to succeed Jack Swarbrick as Notre Dame AD". June 8, 2023.