Why Notre Dame is built to keep winning in the expanded Playoff under Marcus Freeman

Pete Bevacqua stood in the din of the cavernous Georgia World Congress Center last month, about 48 hours from kickoff of the national championship game.

Behind Notre Dames athletic director, Marcus Freeman was mobbed during media day, which was predictable for a 39-year-old coach at the top of the sport.

Bevacqua was slightly more anonymous, which was healthy, if not indicative.

Advertisement Since taking over for former athletic director Jack Swarbrick in full last March, Bevacqua has overseen Notre Dames mens lacrosse winning a second national title and the groundbreaking of Shields Hall , which will become Notre Dame footballs new operations center next year.

Hes extended Freeman on a lucrative six-year deal that makes him among the highest-paid coaches in the sport.

And theres the new NBC contract , which helps fund the football teams independence.

Hes also steered Notre Dame into the transfer portal and name, image and likeness, critical real estate if football wants to make runs through the College Football Playoff the standard.

And thats exactly how Bevacqua sees it.

This is not a one and done, Bevacqua said.

This has to be the new normal for us.

Notre Dame went a dozen years between playing for a national title in football, from the blowout by Alabama in January 2013 to the loss to Ohio State in January 2025 .

Its been 36 seasons since the Irish went all the way, the longest drought in school history.

As much as its Freemans job to complete that circuit, its on Bevacqua to give Notre Dames coach the wiring to do so.

A cynic might suggest an athletic directors job is to remove every excuse a football coach has for not winning.

And theres some truth to that.

But at Notre Dame, the athletic directors job is to make sure anyone above him on the org chart understands what it takes to get there.

And on that front, Freeman has provided Bevacqua proof of concept, with a 14-2 record in his third season grabbing hold of the universitys attention at large.

Sometimes, Bevacqua will start staff meetings with the Rev.

Ted Hesburgh quote, There is no academic virtue in playing mediocre football.

He sees no reason for Notre Dame to shy away from football success.

Bevacqua talks about alignment regularly, a buzzword Brian Kelly wore out while explaining his move to LSU three years ago.

And yet, it feels accurate around Notre Dame today, from the board of trustees to university president the Rev.

Bob Dowd to Bevacqua to Freeman.

GO DEEPER Brian Kelly brushed off 'fit' concerns at LSU.

But in Year 3, they're bigger than ever I dont think anybody shies away from the fact that Notre Dame football is really important to Notre Dame.

And that a rising tide lifts all ships, Bevacqua said.

If youre walking around South Bend or Beijing and you have that ND on, people know what it is.

That has a lot to do with the reputation of the school, but it also has a lot to do with the history of this football program.

Advertisement If Swarbrick was the right athletic director at the right time, hired in 2008 as conference realignment began to dominate the sport, Bevacqua feels like the ideal follow-up.

A background as the chairman of NBC Sports gives Bevacqua working knowledge of the next great mover in college sports as the topic of media rights dominates the conversation.

Aside from the House settlement and NIL, the biggest story this offseason thus far might be the ACCs extension with ESPN and how Notre Dame fits into it, potentially playing more often against Clemson, Miami and Florida State.

Thats a competitive story, but it could be a media rights one, too: Notre Dame helping the ACC create more marquee inventory that can help the leagues bigger brands stand out.

There is chaos.

If you look at the history of chaos, strong entities get stronger during chaotic times.

I think Notre Dame is a very strong entity, Bevacqua said.

I dont think our university has ever been stronger in terms of our reputation.

I think were financially secure.

We know who we are.

GO DEEPER What's happening in the Florida State, Clemson lawsuits with the ACC? Bevacqua is comfortable with how Freeman has built the roster, pulling all levers available among high school recruiting and portal acquisition.

The Irish wouldnt have made it to the CFPs finish line without both, from quarterback Riley Leonard (Duke) to defensive back Jordan Clark (Arizona State) to returner Jayden Harrison (Marshall) to kicker Mitch Jeter (South Carolina).

Freeman talks about majoring in high school recruiting.

And thats true.

Hes also made the deans list in his minor, if thats how portal acquisitions should be viewed.

Notre Dame has eight incoming transfers for next season, including wide receiver Malachi Fields (Virginia) and defensive tackle Jared Dawson (Louisville).

That group also includes defensive back Elijah Hughes (USC), a rare undergraduate transfer for a program thats subsisted mainly on grad transfers to date.

Advertisement With that combined with Notre Dames Rally NIL collective going in-house and Notre Dame planning to fully fund the revenue sharing expected to come with the House settlement thats a $20.5 million expense Bevacqua believes Notre Dame has everything to make Playoff runs a regular thing.

And to maybe get Notre Dame over the finish line with Freeman in charge.

Were going to keep our foot on the gas and hopefully be here a lot more often, Bevacqua said.

I believe we have the perfect coach for Notre Dame.

What Marcus does on the field and off the field, hes accepting everything that Notre Dame is.

You dont want to play Notre Dame football to do just OK or be respected.

We want to win national championships.

So I really do think were all in, provided its still a student-athlete experience.

GO DEEPER Notre Dame mailbag: What's next at defensive coordinator? How big are portal losses? (Top photo: Kevin C.

Cox / Getty Images).

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