Marcus Freeman Stands On The Shoulders Of HBCU Legends Robinson, Gaither, Merritt, And Hubbard

The Fighting Irish's head coach will have support of the HBCU sports community as he campaigns for the College Football National Championship.

Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry celebrates after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Nearly 47 years ago, the unthinkable occurred in college football. A small black college named Florida A&M University (11-1) from Tallahassee, Florida, defeated UMass (9-3), 35-28, to claim the NCAA-sanctioned national championship title. An HBCU football team was the best in the country!

13,604 spectators filled the stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas, to witness Coach Rudy Hubbard's ascension to the top of the collegiate football division.

Hubbard, like Marcus Freeman, is an Ohio State alumnus. Coach Hubbard was the first black head football coach to lead an HBCU to win the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship crown.   

On Jan. 20, Coach Freeman can become the first coach who is black and of Asian descent to lead an FBS Division I program to win the College Football Playoff National Title.

Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks on against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

A ROCKY START FOR SOME, NOT FREEMAN

Marcus Who? Why did they hire him? Who is he? Notre Dame needs a better coach than him! These were a few cynical postings from college football fans when Notre Dame hired Marcus Freeman.

The one-time graduate assistant from Ohio State University arrived in South Bend, Indiana, as the next defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2021. On Dec. 3, 2021, Freeman was promoted to become the Fighting Irish's 30th head football coach after Brian Kelley departed to accept the LSU job. At 35, he was the youngest ever to lead the storied program.

During his first full season, he went 9-4, followed by a 10-3 season, and currently a 14-1 season, compiling a 33-9 record at Notre Dame.

"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."

- Marcus Freeman, Notre Da

Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks on from the sidelines against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

CALLS FOR FREEMAN'S JOB

Freeman and the Irish won their season opener, 23-13, against Texas A&M in what many believed to be a statement game. However, Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame 16-14 at home in Week 2. Fans unceremoniously booed the Fighting Irish team off the field at Notre Dame Stadium. The horrid reaction ushered in calls for Freeman's job as head coach.

Tempting as it was for the administration, Freeman righted the ship and stayed the course. 13 straight wins with an offense that grinds out victories on the ground more than through the air with QB Riley Leonard.

Freeman, 39, will celebrate tonight before Friday's game between Ohio State and Texas. The College Football Playoff National Championship game will have a black head coach leading his team, contending to hoist the title trophy.

When the football game kicks off at 6:30 PM on Monday, Jan. 20, Coach Marcus Freeman may accomplish what Eddie G. Robinson, Jake Gaither, John Merritt, Marino Casem, and many other HBCU legendary coaches never had the opportunity to witness, a College Football National Championship Head Coach who is black.  

Some argue that Freeman's ethnicity should influence his designation. They may be correct. But, it should not be ignored either.

Only former Florida A&M University's former head coach Rudy Hubbard achieved a national championship victory in the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA playoff.

It seems like the spirits of legendary black head coaches are cheering for Freeman. Additionally, current coaches who aspire to be included in the history books — such as Deion Sanders, T.C. Taylor, Trei Oliver, Chennis Berry, and Willie Simmons — hope to make a significant impact at the highest levels of the sport one day.

After 47 years, can Marcus Freeman do the unthinkable in the FBS ranks and win?

We shall see.

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