SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Jack Swarbrick will step down as Notre Dame’s athletic director next year after a 16-year run in which he helped the school maintain the football program's independent status amid unprecedented realignment by some of the top conferences in the nation.

Notre Dame announced Thursday that NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua will succeed Swarbrick. Bevacqua, a 1993 Notre Dame alumnus, will join the university July 1 as a special assistant to the president for athletics before takin over the athletic department sometime in the first quarter of 2024.

“It speaks volumes about Notre Dame and Father Jenkins’ leadership that we can implement such a well-conceived succession plan and attract someone of Pete’s talent and experience,” Swarbrick said. “I have worked closely with Pete throughout his time at NBC and based on that experience, I believe he has the perfect skill set to help Notre Dame navigate the rapidly changing landscape that is college athletics today, and be an important national leader as we look to the future.”

Read More...

IRVING, Texas (AP) The Big 12 Conference is extending its reach into Mexico, announcing plans Thursday for men's and women's basketball games to be played in Mexico City late next year while also exploring a possible football bowl game in Monterrey.

Big 12 Mexico is the league's first international extension, and comes less than a year after Brett Yormark became commissioner of the evolving conference.

MILWAUKEE (AP) Marquette coach Shaka Smart has received a contract extension after leading the Golden Eagles to their first outright regular-season championship and tournament title in the Big East.

Smart’s contract now runs through the 2029-30 season. This is the first extension Smart has received since signing a six-year deal when he took over as Marquette’s coach in 2021.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Ron Sanchez has resigned as head coach of the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team.

Sanchez took over the 49ers on March 19, 2018, inheriting a team coming off a 6-23 campaign. In five years Charlotte went 72-78 under Sanchez, highlighted by winning the College Basketball Invitational championship this past season, the Niners’ first post-season tournament title in school history.

Purdue’s Zach Edey decided it was the right call to go back to school instead of staying in the NBA draft. His predecessor as national player of the year, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, is sticking with his pro pursuit.

And Connecticut's reign as NCAA champion will begin with multiple starters having left for the NBA draft and one returning after flirting with doing the same.

Caleb Love is now headed to Arizona.

The North Carolina transfer tweeted Tuesday, less than a month after decommitting from Michigan, that he will play next season with the Wildcats.

MILWAUKEE (AP) Olivier-Maxence Prosper has announced he is keeping his name under NBA draft consideration rather than returning to Marquette.

The 6-foot-8 forward announced his decision Friday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta will retire on August 1 after 17 years at the university, the school announced Friday.

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Clemson leading scorer PJ Hall is returning to college after withdrawing from the NBA draft on Thursday.

The 6-foot-10 forward took part in the NBA combine and posted his decision to put off the pros on social media.

Kevin McCullar Jr. said Wednesday that he will return to Kansas for his final year of eligibility, likely rounding out a roster that could make the Jayhawks the preseason No. 1 next season.

McCullar transferred from Texas Tech to Kansas for last season, when he started 33 of 34 games and averaged 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds. He was also among the nation's leaders in steals, and along with being selected to the Big 12's all-defensive team, the 6-foot-6 forward was a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award.