January 10, 2025
Marcus Freeman Becomes First Black Head Coach To Lead Team To National College Football Championship Game
Notre Dame beat Penn State, 27-24 to advance to the College Football Championship
History was made on Thursday, Jan. 9 when Notre Dame beat Penn State to advance to the College Football Championship, making the Fighting Irish coach, Marcus Freeman, the first Black man to lead his team to the championship at the FBS level (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision).
According to CBS Sports, the No. 7 seed, Notre Dame, with a record of 14-1, narrowly defeated the No. 6 seed, Penn State, who ends the season at 13-3, with a game-ending field goal to make the final score, 27-24. The victory propelled the team to the championship game, which will be led by Freeman, whose father is Black and whose mother is South Korean, giving him the distinction to not only be the first Black head coach to make it to the championship game but also the first Asian as well.
Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman the first Black College Football Head Coach to make it to the National College Football Championship Game pic.twitter.com/dSuXkJZ6ez
— HBCU Premier Sports & More (@HBCUSports1) January 10, 2025
“I’ve said this before: I don’t ever want to take attention away from the team,” Freeman said. “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. But this ain’t about me. This is about us. We’re going to celebrate what we’ve done because it’s so special.”
With the victory, Freeman’s team is also the first team in history to win two bowl games in a single postseason, as they compete for the national championship for the first time in more than a decade, since last playing in the national championship in 2012.
Since becoming the head coach in 2021, Freeman has won 34 games against nine losses in three full seasons leading the Fighting Irish.
The Fighting Irish will wait to find out who their opponent is for the championship game that is taking place on Monday, Jan. 20 in Atlanta. Ohio State is taking on Texas in the 2025 Cotton Bowl on Friday, Jan. 10. The winner of this contest will play against Notre Dame.