For the first time in history, a Black head coach will lead a team in college football’s FBS National Championship Game

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

It’s been a fascinating week in college football. The semifinals matchups are set, inching closer to a champion in this first year of  the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision’s (FBS) expanded, 12-team playoff to determine a national champion. Just as controversially as the teams that didn’t make the 12-team field (Alabama, Miami, etc.), the four top-seeded teams (Oregon, Arizona State, Boise State and Georgia) were all eliminated from contention. But hey, what is a college football playoff system without controversy and handwringing? Amirite? 

The championship isn’t about the losers though, it’s about the winners and four teams are still in the running. On Jan. 9, 2025, at the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida, the Penn State Nittany Lions will face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. On Jan. 10, 2025, the Ohio State Buckeyes will face off against the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas. While the journey to the championship has been rocky, two deserving teams will face off for the National Championship Game in Atlanta, on Jan. 20. 

Also Read:
Former NFL receiver DeSean Jackson hired as the football coach at Delaware State

This championship game also comes with a bit of additional history. Not only is this the first iteration of a 12-team playoff, but no matter what happens, for the first time ever, a Black head coach will lead a team in the National Championship Game. 

Notre Dame’s head coach Marcus Freeman and Penn State’s head coach James Franklin are both Black. Obviously, when they face off in their semifinal match it won’t be the first time two Black coaches meet in a college football game. However, when the game clock reaches zero at the Orange Bowl and either Penn State or Notre Dame is victorious, either Coach Freeman or Coach Franklin will be the first Black head coach to lead a team in the FBS title game. 

That’s a wild stat in 2025, but it is true. And frankly, it’s ridiculous, especially compared to the amount of players who are Black. But this isn’t a new story or a surprising one, really; the conversation around the lack of Black head coaches in both college football and the NFL is on-going. The fact that history is STILL being made in certain corners of the athletic world is crazy but there are still doors that need opening. With that said, come Jan. 9, either Coach Freeman or Coach Franklin will march on toward history. 

Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).