Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman has been named the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches (NCMFC) College Coach of the Year. This award recognizes a minority coach who has either achieved remarkable success on the field during the season or used their role to promote diversity within college football. The honoree must exemplify integrity, character, and excellence both on and off the field.
In addition to this honor, Freeman won the 2024 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award, the 2024 Dodd Trophy, and the 2024 George Munger College Coach of the Year Award. He was also chosen as the honorary head coach for the 2024 AFCA Allstate Good Works Team. During his third season at Notre Dame, Freeman led the team to a National Championship game appearance and a 14-2 record, finishing the season ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll.
Freeman made history by becoming the first Black or Asian American head coach to compete in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
As a third-year head coach, Freeman boasts a 33-10 career record, with a 5-2 postseason record, including three CFP victories in 2024. He guided Notre Dame to seven wins over AP-ranked opponents this season, including No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 15 Louisville, No. 24 Navy, No. 18 Army, No. 9 Indiana, No. 2 Georgia, and No. 5 Penn State. His CFP win over Penn State marked his 14th ranked win at Notre Dame, surpassing any other Irish head coach in their first three seasons and tying for the most ranked wins by any FBS program in the past three years (Georgia, 14).
Notre Dame recorded the most wins against AP-ranked teams in 2024 with a 7-1 record, and no other team faced as many ranked teams as Notre Dame’s eight. The Irish also secured four wins over teams ranked in the final AP Top 25, their highest since 2002, and three wins over Top 10 teams, the most since 1990.
At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Notre Dame led the nation in several defensive categories, including pass efficiency defense (104.4), turnovers gained (33), and defensive touchdowns (6). The team also ranked high in other areas, such as scoring defense (15.5), passing yards allowed (169.4), and total defense (307.4).
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