Yesterday, Notre Dame introduced Jack Swarbrick as its new director of athletics, filling the void left by Kevin White, who took the same position at Duke. While a big change at a high profile institution like Notre Dame makes news, this hire is especially noteworthy when you consider Swarbrick's career background.

Swarbrick worked as an attorney in Indianapolis for a number of years, and took part in many sports-related issues. He served as the chairman of the Indiana Sports Corporation from 1992-2001, and played a large role in getting the NCAA to move its headquarters from Kansas City to Indianapolis in 1997 and bringing the Super Bowl to Indianapolis in 2012. Over the years, Swarbrick flirted with the idea of becoming directly involved with collegiate athletics, and was even strongly considered for various athletics leadership positions. It seems Swarbrick has finally found his fit in South Bend, considering he is a 1976 Notre Dame graduate.

Swarbrick's path to the AD position at Notre Dame is unusual, especially considering the way the typical college athletics director at a Division I school works his/her way up the sports administration ladder. Athletics directors have usually served in other capacities within the department before being granted control of the entire operation.

However, in the last several years, we have begun to see a change of thought in this conventional hiring practice. The days of seeing former coaches being promoted to athletics director are on the decline. It seems that Swarbrick's hire is another step in the movement that involves looking outside college athletics for "non-traditional" candidates to fill high-level positions within athletics departments.

This trend goes deeper on the college level than just the athletics director positions. For example, the path to college president may not just involve moving up the university system ladder. More than ever, institutions are now looking outside the school systems to other professions for potential candidates. There are numerous examples of this, such as with the 2006 appointment of University of North Carolina president Erskine Bowles, who had worked at Morgan Stanley and Co. and served as President Bill Clinton's chief of staff. Also, the chancellor of the University of Georgia system Erroll Davis Jr., who was also hired in 2006, was previously the chairman of the board at Alliant Energy Corporation.

The question that must be asked is why this shift in philosophy has taken place over the last several years for many high-level jobs at academic institutions. It seems like many colleges and universities want people with broader professional experiences than simply a college campus background. This aligns with the goal of trying to manage a more efficient and effective business, which in turn will hopefully generate more revenue that can be used for student welfare or other university projects.

Focusing back on athletics, we must recognize why this shift to lawyers and business-people as athletics directors is happening at many colleges and universities. These types of professions are unquestionably as important as ever in the society that we live in today, where the economy is struggling and lawsuits are just a click away. We must also realize that with hires like Swarbrick, we are bringing corporate America and college athletics as close as they have ever been. As with most things, there are both advantages and possible disadvantages with this approach.

Swarbrick himself recognizes this change in intercollegiate athletics, as he mentioned in his press conference yesterday: "I believe that I accept this job on the threshold of extraordinary change in intercollegiate athletics in America. I have my theories, as Father suggested, about what that change may entail and where the industry is headed. But I think it will be enormous. I think there's much about this industry you won't recognize in 10 years."

What do you think? Is it a good thing for college athletics to look to people with non-traditional college sports backgrounds to fill high-profile athletics director positions?