When the NIL era of college football first began, there were concerns that Notre Dame wouldn’t be able to hang with the rest of the sport. Add in the fact that the Fighting Irish have always required a more rigorous academic profile, and some panicky fans thought it might be the death blow to a program that had just seen a head coach leave because he intimated the program couldn’t compete with the LSUs and Alabamas of the world.
Fast forward from 2021 to 2026, and not only is Marcus Freeman’s program hanging with the biggest of the big boys, but this year, he might have his team ready to become the best of the best. It turns out that neither NIL nor the Transfer Portal nor the academic requirements have been a negative. In fact, according to Freeman, he and his staff have found a way to make everything a positive.
The Notre Dame head coach recently met with local media for the first time in months, and in a wide-ranging conversation, he made it clear that the program isn’t struggling at all to keep up with the SEC, the Big Ten, the ACC, or anyone else.
“You wanna believe that financially they're close to as well compensated here as anywhere else,” Freeman stated. “Probably the second thing is understanding that I don't wanna leave Notre Dame without a degree. I want to get my degree from Notre Dame and we have to remind them how important that is.”
Notre Dame football turns NIL and academic standards into recruiting advantages
The idea that academics at Notre Dame are an important recruiting tool isn’t just coach speak. There have been numerous recruits who have talked about how important it is that they get an education in South Bend. Those recruits have also talked about how they all know that sooner or later their football careers will end. Having a degree from this university is important.
The key is that it hasn’t changed. Notre Dame was a great education before Marcus Freeman was the head coach. And yet, he and his staff have managed to really pound home just how good that degree can be. It’s something very few coaches since Lou Holtz have been able to get players to buy into in the way this generation of recruits and players have.
Freeman genuinely understands the perceived shortcomings of coaching in South Bend. What’s made him such a valuable commodity and a special leader of men is how he’s taken those shortcomings and turned them into a benefit for Notre Dame.
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