Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has etched his name into the history books.
Following a nail-biting 27-24 victory over Penn State in the 2025 Orange Bowl semifinal, Freeman became the first Black head coach to lead a team to the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship.
Freeman, whose heritage includes a Black father and a South Korean mother, will also be the first coach of Asian descent to compete in the CFP National Championship.
The game is scheduled for Monday, January 20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, adding another milestone to Freeman’s groundbreaking career.
Despite his personal milestone, Freeman remains focused on the team’s collective accomplishments.
"It is an honor and I hope all coaches, minorities, Black, Asian, white, it doesn't matter, great people continue to get opportunities to lead young men like this."
— ESPN (@espn) January 10, 2025
Marcus Freeman on becoming the first Black and Asian American head coach to make the FBS national championship 👏 pic.twitter.com/KHMksJUNdK
“I’ve said this before: I don’t ever want to take attention away from the team,” Freeman stated after the Orange Bowl victory. “It is an honor, and I hope all coaches — minorities, Black, Asian, white, it doesn’t matter — continue to get opportunities to lead young men like this. But this isn’t about me. This is about us. We’re going to celebrate what we’ve done because it’s so special.”
Freeman became Notre Dame’s head coach in 2021 after serving as the team’s defensive coordinator. In just three seasons, he has compiled an impressive 34-9 record, including nine consecutive wins against AP-ranked teams and an undefeated 3-0 record in College Football Playoff games.
Under Freeman’s leadership, Notre Dame became the first team in college football history to win two bowl games in a single postseason.
Freeman’s historic moment was guaranteed in the Orange Bowl, as his opponent, Penn State head coach James Franklin, is also Black. Franklin, a seasoned leader in his own right, expressed the significance of the matchup earlier in the week.
“I remember thinking that, as a coach, how significant that was in the profession and how significant that was for young coaches coming up in the profession to see those guys in that role,” Franklin said, referencing Super Bowl XLI, where Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith faced off — marking the first NFL championship featuring two Black head coaches. “I also remember, at that time, that there was a lot of conversations about, ‘Will this impact the profession? Will this impact have earned opportunities for guys?’”
