It's official: Swarbrick announced as Notre Dame's athletic director Save Email Print
Notre Dame, IN
Posted: 11:36 AM Jul 16, 2008
 Last Updated: 6:21 AM Jul 17, 2008
17 comments
A | A | A

The University of Notre Dame officially announced its hiring of Jack Swarbrick as the new athletic director for Irish sports.

The announcement was made at a press conference early Wednesday afternoon, out of the Hesburgh Library on Notre Dame’s campus.

Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame President, said they were looking for someone with the highest level of personal integrity, a clear and uncompromising commitment to excellence in both academics and athletics, as well as strong leadership.

He said they were able to find all of that in Swarbrick.

"He has a breadth of vision of the landscape of college athletics that in my experience is unsurpassed. Jack is widely respected for his insight and integrity. We're just very pleased that he will be using these many skills in service to Notre Dame," said Jenkins, in today's press conference.

Swarbrick, a 1976 graduate of Notre Dame, is an Indianapolis attorney and was instrumental in bringing the 2012 Super Bowl to the Hoosier capital.

He spoke today how his undergraduate years at Notre Dame helped shape his personal and professional career, and how he is thrilled to be able to come back to the University as athletic director.

"Notre Dame has given me so much in my life, I can't wait to give more back to it," said Swarbrick.

He said he is enthusiastic to begin to take on the challenges that come with his new role within the University and shape the future of Irish athletics.

"We want to win. We want to be a great academic institution that furthers research in this country. We want to be a place of faith. And we want to be a place that wins on the athletic field and turns out extraordinary student athletes," said Swarbrick.

Swarbrick is the 12th athletic director to serve at Notre Dame.
More Stories
Niles complaints sent to Congress

Local Republicans discuss convention wrap-up

Granger construction worker knocked out by lightning

Four-day work week expands in LaPorte County

 Local hospitals hurt by abuse of the emergency room system

Graffiti on display at I.U.S.B.

Kati pleads guilty to killing bar security guard

Budget cuts concerns in county departments
Post Your Comments
First Name:
Location:
Enter Comments: characters left
Email (optional):
Email will not be displayed on site. For station contact purpose only.
Read Comments
Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.
Posted by: Rob Location: South Bend on Jul 23, 2008 at 07:48 AM
Boy, ole ND fan is getting upset. A feeling most domers are used to!
Posted by: Anonymous on Jul 22, 2008 at 12:18 PM
What's does a Noter Dame fan have in common with a beer bottle? They're both empty from the neck up.
Posted by: ND Fan Location: ND on Jul 22, 2008 at 07:01 AM
Anon- Hahahahahaha. Man you are funny. I like laughing at... I mean, WITH.... you. Keep them coming, I don't think I could make it through the day without your wit.
Posted by: Anonymous on Jul 20, 2008 at 05:31 PM
What do Notre Dame fans and hemroids have in common? They're both a pain in the ass and never seem to go away completely.
Posted by: ND Fan Location: ND on Jul 20, 2008 at 09:31 AM
Todd, you are ignorant and obviously have nothing to do with ND. How can you say ND is not one of the largest employers of the area? And regarding the worst season in history last year, ever game was STILL sold out. Their record did not deter people from coming here and spending money. Do you think that the tens of thousands of people that come here for the game do not go to Mishawaka for a hotel room or for dinner? Ignorant. Let's not even start with how much they do in community service. Stop talking out of your a**- your breath stinks.
Posted by: Todd Location: South Bend on Jul 19, 2008 at 05:11 PM
Andrew...you have to be joking. The Hall of Fame has cost us money for a long time. The big restaurants are not in South Bend...they are in Mishawaka. The major big hotel of South Bend is almost on the boarder line of being a dump. Notre Dame is not the largest employeer...a lot of their services are contracted by outsourcing. They economy did just fine with the worst season in history last year. The businesses still made it through...why? Because most of them are not in South Bend to begin with. They are in Mishawaka.
Posted by: Tootszoonie Location: S B on Jul 19, 2008 at 02:47 PM
I heard the first thing Swarbrick is going to do is replace the playing surface at Notre Dame Stadium with astroturf.
Posted by: BOO on Jul 17, 2008 at 02:51 PM
And this made news for what. Todd is right on the money. They buy up, put in homes that only maybe 2% of people who live here can afford, this includes black and white people, so dont even go there. Have you seen those mini mansions on Corby and by St Louis? Yeah they are pretty, but I bet they got tax breaks that the average Joe cant get. This man, will not stop crime, the shootings, we cant even get the road paved smooth on Corby for goodness sake. How about replacing the light on the 5 marker, that has been there for 100 years. Will he do that? Andrew, you must be kidding, The football hall of fame has lost so much money, I am surprised the Chocolate factory didnt buy that too.This city is LOOSING MONEY and in the red, think Notre Dame will help...Heck NO..its all about the haves and have nots.
Posted by: Andrew Location: South Bend on Jul 17, 2008 at 01:45 PM
Without Notre Dame, there would be no nice hotels or restaurants in the area, no college football hall of fame, no tourism to this area, there would be 10,000 less consumers for local businesses which would likely mean no bars and many fewer stores. Not to mention that ND is the largest employer in the area by far. Basically, the entire economy would collapse. So you are right, they do nothing for the area.
Posted by: Joe Location: Edwardsburg on Jul 17, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Hi Mitch, Jeff HAS a life, and part of it is in Iraq. His son is serving our country there right now. I think you owe JJ and apology for that snide, unthoughtful remark. Please do not confuse dedication with obsession. His job is to report on all things sports. That includes Notre Dame, and BTW, he beat the pants off the competition in reporting this story. Give the guy some credit. I'll hang up now and listen to your response.
Posted by: Todd Location: South Bend on Jul 17, 2008 at 12:49 PM
What ND does for the community? Are you kidding me? They don't pay property tax on the hundreds of acres they have, don't pay for the extra police it takes the city to keep game days going..they actually refused to pay when they added the two home games, and they have the worst retention rate after graduation of graduates who stay in Indiana in the community. Yeah, sounds like they are doing a lot. Not so much.
Posted by: William Go Tell on Jul 17, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Some months ago I was pleasantly surprised Indianapolis could sell the NFL on allowing them to host a Super Bowl and publicly stated my admiration for whoever had made it happen. Turns out this guy was behind that one along with the NCAA locating to Indy and much more. ND may have just found a gem, an individual who can restore their image as one of the preminent institutions in college sports. All you doubters may want to hold on with your negativity...but I doubt you can help yourselves.
Posted by: Andrew Location: SB on Jul 17, 2008 at 10:43 AM
If you guys really could care less then you wouldn't have clicked on the link and posted a comment. American men died in Iraq so that means WNDU can't cover sports stories that day? Makes no sense. I think it is very fashionable in this town to be negative towards Notre Dame instead of embracing what is good about Notre Dame and looking at what Notre Dame does for this community. Let's face it, without Notre Dame, South Bend would be nothing more then say Benton Harbor. Let's be proud of the great institution that Notre Dame is and if you really could care less, that's fine too just don't post. Don't spread negativity just for the heck of it.
Posted by: Mary Location: SB on Jul 17, 2008 at 06:11 AM
I still could care less. Sports mean very little to me in the grand scheme of things.
Posted by: Mitch Location: Mishawaka on Jul 16, 2008 at 06:45 PM
American men died in Iraq today. This is not breaking news...this is unimportant. Jeff needs to get a life and figure out the rest of the world does not care about Notre Dame as much as he does. They guy is obsessed.
Posted by: notre dame fan Location: marshall county on Jul 16, 2008 at 05:18 PM
Sounds like a good fit. He has to better than that doof White!!
Posted by: Erin Location: South Bend on Jul 16, 2008 at 04:20 PM
If you want to understand Notre Dame's true priorities, Mr. Swarbrick sums up the school's mission nicely. Serving as a place of faith is third on the list of five things and turning out "extraordinary student athletes" is dead last. I wonder what Our Lady thinks when she sees the institution named for her throwing dizzying amounts of money at athletics. Catholic values still must be for the little people only. I suspect spending as long as Notre Dame has on its moral high horse must make for an uncomfortable ride...
Five Day
WNDU News Poll

How many games will the Irish win this season?

Fewer than 6
Between 6 and 8
9 or 10
More than 10


 
Most Discussed Headlines
Identity of office