“I have the opportunity to go to work from one of the great iconic brands in NBC, NBC Sports. And yet, if we’re not progressive and smart, we’re going to wake up in a couple of years and feel like we own the corner record store.”
ON THE BENCH
Pete Bevacqua was named President of NBC Sports Group in 2018, where he oversees an unprecedented collection of assets and platforms, which includes NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio, NBC Sports Digital, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine.
Prior, Bevacqua was CEO of PGA of America from 2012-2018. He implemented a strategic plan focused on ‘better serving the PGA member and growing the game of golf’. He created the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and also led the transition of the PGA Championship to move from August to May for the first time in 70 years. Bevacqua also spearheaded the creation of the Ryder Cup task force.
On top of all that, Bevacqua is a board member of RISE, an alliance of sports organizations that promote racial equality.
Bevacqua earned his Bachelor’s Degree in English from Notre Dame (minor in film), while acquiring his Juris Doctorate from Georgetown. Not to mention, Bevacqua was a walk-on punter for Lou Holtz during his days at Notre Dame.
Last but not least, Bevacqua is married to his wife Tiffany and together they have one daughter and two sons.
“Let’s make some mistakes, smart mistakes, learn from them, and really try to be progressive, let’s not be fearful. At the PGA of America, I don’t care if you’ve been here for 40 years, or you just started last week, I want to hear your viewpoint. What we were doing at the Ryder Cup, and that real kind of bringing people together talking things through was special.”
BENCH TALK
Chapters:
- Flipping a Switch (3:30)
- Hit by a Pitch (6:15)
- An Empty Chair (8:12)
- No Corner Record Store (11:03)
- Pivot & Evolve (14:39)
- Why This Bench (18:17)
🎧 LISTEN
WHY THIS BENCH
Jack Swarbrick
We thought we might be on a bench down on the field. But production made it better for us to be on a bench up here, above the stadium. But why this bench?
Pete Bevacqua
Well, for me, it goes back to my father, and childhood and what this university has meant to me, truly, and literally for as long as I can remember. You know, it was all about Notre Dame, it was the purity of Notre Dame and what Notre Dame stands for, and how Notre Dame is kind of a constant. And it’s always been a constant in my life. I grew up knowing this is where I was going to go to school. It was the only school I applied to. People ask, did it live up to your expectations, and it far exceeded them.
I had a group of roommates and we’re always constantly amazed at the impact four years here, can have on you. And if you divide your life into four-year segments, you have a lot of four-year segments more and more as you get older and older. But the power of these four years is something you can’t even describe. No matter how busy you are or whatever problems you might have, it just transforms you.
I don’t want to sound overly simplistic but there’s a wholesomeness to this place. Now, no institution is perfect, but this is about as close to perfect as anything gets. And it’s uplifting. There’s an energy here. I actually think the importance of Notre Dame, unlike just about any other academic institution or university out there, is that the importance of it and your connection to it increases over time.
“How do we do what we do best, telling those stories, making big events bigger, but understanding that we’re going to have to pivot and evolve, if we’re going to attract that new generation. It goes back to that, hey, let’s take chances, not everything is going to be a home run out of the box. We always have to keep an eye out to how are people going to consume content in the future.“