Jack Swarbrick to step down in 2024

TheProspector

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At the time UA stock was at an all time high, it plummeted after Plank made comments about trump IIRC
It plummeted because it’s not a well run company and their products and brand are not as strong as Adidas and Nike.
 

stlnd01

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There would be a fee to leave the ACC, but it is not as bad as y'all are making it out to be...
Yeah I have never had the sense the Grant of Rights agreement is a major barrier for US to leave the ACC. Only the full football members.
 

TNUtoNotreDame

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Yeah I have never had the sense the Grant of Rights agreement is a major barrier for US to leave the ACC. Only the full football members.
It would cost some money, but IF we left it would be made up quickly.
 

ulukinatme

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Swarbrick positives:
- Helped usher in an era of massive infrastructure overhauls for all of its sports.
- Helped keep ND independent in football
- Stabilized the ND football program
- Shitcanned Michigan from our schedule after their shenanigans during the early 2010s.
- Provided a vigorous defense of Manti Te'o during that incident (before all of the details were readily known)

Swarbrick negatives:
- Tethered us to the ACC which is a sinking ship. We are stuck paying a massive exit fee to get out of that contract which runs another decade.
- Handling of the Declan Sullivan situation calling the weather "Unremarkable" in the immediate aftermath
- Handling of the frozen 5 incident and rolling over (along with Fr. Jenkins) and letting the NCAA have their way with us.
- UnderArmour contract. Touted the inventiveness of taking stock options in the company as a part of the contract even though UA is a dumpster fire of a company (I'm aware much of the stock may have been sold off by Malpass before he retired).
- The comedy show that was the OC search this year and the laugher of a press release that was sent in the immediate aftermath.

Overall, a Notre Dame athletic director's main directive is the success of the football team. Swarbrick has succeeded there. While there is room for improvement, our football program appears stable and has kept a seat at the table amid massive conference realignment. Our olympic sports have held serve although I will note that most of the best ND coaches over Swarbrick's tenure were White hires (Jackson, Corrigan, Brey, McGraw). Swarbrick's legacy is still being written and the success or failure of Ivey, Freeman, and Shrewsberry will add or detract from his tenure.

Damn good list. The infrastructure overhauls were certainly big. The stadium project in particular was a big move that not only provided some great and necessary additions to the building, but it made the building more functional for other purposes so it wasn't just a venue available for 6 home games and graduation each year.
 

SouthSideChiDomer

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At the time UA stock was at an all time high, it plummeted after Plank made comments about trump IIRC
IIRC, it plummeted after it came out UA was cooking the books to pull off their something like 10 consecutive quarters of double digit growth which is what so many analysts were highlighting. Once the air was let out of the balloon and the hype wore off, the momentum really slowed down. It quickly went from figuring out how to challenge Nike for first to how to make sure they stay in third.
 

Irish#1

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We receive TV revenue from the ACC as a part of our deal with them. Our current TV revenue comes from NBC for our home games (currently around $25 million per year) plus a portion of the ACC-ESPN deal as part of our membership with them (around $10 million per year).

Given the ACC tv contract with ESPN runs through the mid-2030s, we're leaving money on the table by being associated with that conference. We can renegotiate the NBC deal in 2025 (figures currently in the $65 to $75 million range), but the ACC deal ain't changing any time soon which is the problem.

Said another way, even if we get $75 million a year from NBC, we'd still be looking at $85 million in annual tv revenue (NBC plus ACC) which is still a lot lower than the proposed BIG tv contract of $100 million plus per year.
ND doesn't control the broadcast rights to away games and never has, so when it comes to FB, this is a non-issue.
 

IrishTusker

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Don't hire lawyers as ADs who have never been ADs before. Oh wait we just hired another one
 

Kak7304

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I thank Jack for getting ND back to relevancy, but the dude held on for too long. He has really done some damage to ND football the last two years. The offensive coordinator situation was an embarrassment and it’s playing out on the field this year
He’s involved himself too much in the football program over the last few years. Hiring/retaining assistants before hiring a head coach and the OC situation last year. After seeing the way these things played out, I understand why Kelly left. The head coach needs more autonomy than what Swarbrick allows.
 

IrishTusker

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It's hard to avoid attributing responsibility here.

- Swarbrick stuck with Kelly despite the 4-8 year. This loyalty was not reciprocated and he was left holding the bag.
- He hires Freeman but requires that he keep Rees.
- Again, this loyalty is not reciprocated and Rees leaves for the SEC as Kelly did.
- Then, he intervenes (Jerry Jones-style) in the OC hire, deciding that Ludwig isn't worth the buyout. Why is the AD involved in that decision?

Freeman and Parker are where they are because of Swarbrick. Even if Freeman should have hired someone else after the Ludwig debacle (granted), the debacle should never have happened.
 
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Jiggafini19Deux

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I listened to it in the car last night. I would have to concur that his stepping down is not only because he's tired and has done the job long enough, but he clearly sees what is coming in the years ahead for college sports. Football being the obvious elephant in the room.

Nobody is perfect, and when you are in a profession that is in the public spotlight for all the world to see, any mistakes you do make are going to be amplified. I think Jack accomplished a lot for the athletic department and he's leaving Notre Dame better than it was when he took the job, which is all you can really ask of someone.

I have no doubt that some will disagree with this sentiment, but in the end, think about where it all was when he took over and he inherited Charlie Weis. If you don't think things are better off strictly from a football standpoint, you're a pessimist at best.
 

BobbyMac

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When the book is written, Swarbrick's name will be on the top of the page and forever associated with how college football became the P2 breakaway entity it will become and how he simultaneously laid out every benchmark for the new Prez/BoT/AD to remain in that group or how he massaged the ACC as the alternative landing spot as it transitioned from P4 to G7 Super Ivy it will become if the P2 doesn't take Cal, Stanford & UVa... which current conventional wisdom is leaning.

If Jack's age didn't get in the way, he would've been the first Czar of the upcoming College Football Alliance.
 

Irish#1

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Jack made a few mistakes but I give him a grade of A for the job he did. The work he did with the Indiana Sports Corp served him well at ND.
 

stpeteirish

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I have to wonder if the new guy is up to the job. Its a very difficult job and getting harder.
 

BobbyMac

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I have to wonder if the new guy is up to the job. Its a very difficult job and getting harder.

Is it?

The only thing left for Father Bob and the BoT to decide is will ND join the B1G side of the P2 or will they forego that as Jack told us they might and chose the G7 route with the ACC/NCAA
 

ulukinatme

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Wow, great read. And the video that was mentioned in the article was a real tear jerker.
Jack made some great contributions to the university and helped get us elite in multiple sports. He pushed to makeup ground with the big boys in football, and the additions to the stadium were excellent. It was a good video.
 

TheProspector

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Jack made some great contributions to the university and helped get us elite in multiple sports. He pushed to makeup ground with the big boys in football, and the additions to the stadium were excellent. It was a good video.
What sports did he help us get elite in?
 

TheProspector

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Fencing, Lacrosse, women's basketball surged, football did a complete 180 from where it was
Fencing had won 3 championships before Jack was even hired. Jack didn’t hire Kevin Corrigan or muffet mcgraw which were already elite programs before Jack.

The surge in women’s bball was because Muffett hired Niele in 2007 which helped land Skylar setting up the next dynasty. Jack had zero to do with that resurgence.
 
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