MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Before Mitch Jeter's 41-yard field goal sent Notre Dame to the national championship game, before Christian Gray's diving interception set the stage or before Jeremiyah Love's mutant performance ended with a braced right knee, Marcus Freeman was standing inside in front of his team on the Diplomat Hotel on Hollywood Beach on Wednesday afternoon.

Notre Dame's head coach had just returned from a final press conference before kickoff, the form of throwaway media event that will likely be forgotten before the ultimate photo of the bowl trophy might be taken. This wasn't one in all those moments. Not for Freeman, the pinnacle coach at Notre Dame, whose youth went against the grain of what it takes to achieve this sport of old guard and old-fashioned attitudes. A head coach, concerned that he hadn't won enough big games, decided to take a stand along with his counterpart.

Penn State head coach James Franklin playfully asked Freeman how old he was. He praised his hairline. He might as well have patted the 38-year-old on the pinnacle and told him what a very good job he was doing. Because that's how Freeman heard it and gritted his teeth. And now Freeman would channel that energy to a brand new source.

His players couldn't imagine it.

“He was angry. He was angry about the press conference thing, whatever happened in between,” safety Xavier Watts said. “He was angry about it. All the anger went to us and that anger went to the field.”

In a game where Notre Dame needed every little thing from a backup quarterback to 2 backup offensive linemen, Franklin managed to provide the Irish just a little more. There was more to this spectacular College Football Playoff semifinal than Franklin's self-inflicted verbal wounds – the confetti-strewn Hard Rock Stadium told that story. Notre Dame didn't win due to something said from the opposite sideline. It won because this program knows the way to catalyze every advantage and overcome every challenge.

Franklin just offered a bonus.

“I'm not going to talk about their head coach, but we felt like their team didn't really respect us,” Love said. “We wanted to come into this game and make a statement. Be the aggressor. Control her physically. That is the message. Be physical and play violent. The whole game.”

In the top, Notre Dame's 27-24 victory over Penn State was all that and more. The Fighting Irish lost three offensive starters in the primary half, with two offensive linemen missing for the sport and quarterback Riley Leonard suffering a head injury that Notre Dame ruled as something apart from a concussion. In his absence, backup Steve Angeli saved the primary half, if not the day, leading Notre Dame with a field goal after the Irish fell behind 10-0, their first double-digit deficit of the season.

There was more fire at halftime, Freeman urging Notre Dame to follow up its biggest bowl win in a generation against Georgia within the Sugar Bowl with something greater. The Irish were crushed on the bottom in the primary half by Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, not to say tight end Tyler Warren. They didn't set the perimeters, didn't make their drops, didn't get the small print right that they’d mastered all 12 months.

And Notre Dame's offense, a disaster in the primary half, needed Love to play hero when so few others could. Left tackle Anthonie Knapp was already out and was replaced by profession backup Tosh Baker, facing a future top-five pick in Abdul Carter. When guard Rocco Spindler went down, redshirt freshman Charles Jagusah stepped in, a tackle who hadn't played all season, asked to play guard. And he did so for some inexplicable reason, as Notre Dame built a 17-10 record early within the fourth quarter when Love's 2-yard run through 4 Penn State tacklers one way or the other topped his 98-yard rating against Indiana and the College football playoffs opened.

This have a look at Jeremiyah Love's touchdown pic.twitter.com/oSdhKereqU

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 10, 2025

Love aggravated his MCL injury against Georgia to the purpose where his availability seemed to be in query prior to Notre Dame's arrival in Florida. And even through the week, Love didn't know if he would do greater than just take snaps, which wouldn't have been enough for Notre Dame. Not in a game like this.

“I just came out here and said screw it and went out and played,” Love said. “Whatever happens, I trust in God. I trust in His plan for me.”

After two singleton touchdowns gave Penn State a 24-17 lead, making it look like Notre Dame may not have a solution to those latest questions, Leonard shook off a brutal interception and located Jaden Greathouse for a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. It was a part of Greathouse's 105-yard, seven-catch night, the primary 100-yard performance of his college profession.

“This team has faced adversity, challenges and struggles all year long, we have been able to overcome them all,” Greathouse said. “That’s the feeling tonight.”

And then Notre Dame closed the door on Penn State because it does best, luring Drew Allar into an interception that was believed to be coming all night. One from Gray in the primary half was canceled out by a penalty. Another within the second half by linebacker Jack Kiser was taken off the sector by pass interference. Gray kept the third down by playing a coverage that defensive coordinator Al Golden said he hadn't called all night.

“He’ll throw one to us, he’ll throw one to us,” Watts said. “We knew it would come at some point, and it came at the crucial moment.”

Linebacker Jaylen Sneed put barely enough pressure on Allar to provide the quarterback just a little less time to throw, which was all Gray needed. Nice edges again. Some earned money within the film room. Some were taken in the sector. Some are gifted for those who know where to listen when the microphones are on.

Notre Dame converted Gray's pick into field goal range on a seven-play, 19-yard drive. By this point, Franklin had already served his timeouts and was unable to even stop Jeter's game-winning attempt. And perhaps it wouldn't have mattered anyway. The transfer kicker drilled his second 41-yarder of the night, sending Notre Dame to Atlanta, where it captured its first national championship since 1988.

In the Notre Dame locker room, Kiser tried to make sense of all of it, his six-year journey to becoming an Irish captain under this up-and-coming head coach who was hired to take this system where some thought it couldn't go. Kiser didn't need to go into an excessive amount of detail about what triggered Freeman the day before kickoff, when the 38-year-old head coach showed this program has a weapon.

And yet, as Kiser turned back to the locker room, a red digital clock flashed: 12:17 a.m. Midnight had passed. It was not a game night. It happened to be Marcus Freeman's birthday, now the early morning minutes of January tenth.

“Let’s just say Coach Freeman turned 39 17 minutes ago,” Kiser said. “So he’s not the young guy that a lot of people treat him as. Guys want to play for Coach Freeman, and when you add gas to the fire, things can get really explosive in that locker room.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – What's remarkable is that two women will probably be training for the national championship and one will win a title for the primary time within the 44 years of NCAA women's volleyball. It's notable that these two women, Katie Schumacher-Cawley and Dani Busboom Kelly, do it.

Because they’re the best representatives.

In that historic moment, Schumacher-Cawley at Penn State and Louisville's Busboom Kelly in front of a sold-out KFC Yum! compete against one another. Center and a national ABC audience on Sunday at 3 p.m., they embody what it takes to rise to the highest in a male-dominated industry.

Eighteen of the 20 winningest coaches in Division I women's volleyball history are men.

“It will be great for the sport to get rid of this crap and move on where it's not historic for a woman to win,” said Busboom Kelly, 39, in her eighth season and second time within the National Championship game with the Cardinals. “It’s just a normal thing.”

Penn State (34-2) and Louisville (30-5) reflect the drive and resilience of their coaches. On Thursday, they won national semifinal games against Nebraska and Pittsburgh in dramatic fashion.

Schumacher-Cawley and Busboom Kelly each trained with a gentle hand. They fostered confidence from the sidelines as their teams engineered comebacks against opponents ranked first and second within the nation in talent, depth and championship-level experience.

The Nittany Lions pulled off a five-set reverse sweep and fought off two match points for Nebraska within the fourth set.

At the beginning of the decisive fifth set, junior libero Gillian Grimes heard a relaxing voice within the Penn State huddle: “We were made for this.” The sentence didn’t come from Schumacher-Cawley. But she is the explanation it was spoken.

Louisville's players have been under pressure all season to secure a spot within the Final Four at home. As the stress mounted as Pitt won the primary set and took the lead within the second, Busboom Kelly implored the Cardinals to keep up their composure.

“This will start to work,” she said.

Without star attacker Anna DeBeer, the senior suffered a two-point injury within the fourth set and overwhelmed Pitt after converting three set points for the Panthers within the third set.

In short, Penn State and Louisville refused to go away. They kept making big fluctuations. They played to win.

“We’re not talking about ever losing,” Penn State outside hitter Jess Mruzik. “We never count ourselves out, no matter the size of the deficit we face.”

In the games played in front of an NCAA postseason record crowd of 21,726, Penn State and Louisville were the tougher teams.

Is that a surprise given the coaches?

“Women are tough,” said Nebraska coach John Cook, who has won 4 national championships. “And they’re both really tough. Think of them as players. They both won national championships, so that's no coincidence. These guys are winners. They are great competitors. And their teams play like that.”

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Schumacher-Cawley, 44, is a Chicago tough guy. She grew up in the town and starred in multiple sports at Mother McAuley High. She played at Penn State, earning two All-America honors and winning a national championship for coach Russ Rose in 1999, the varsity's first in women's volleyball.

Rose won six more titles. He is the all-time leader in championships and wins amongst Division I coaches. In 2008, Schumacher-Cawley was inducted into the Chicagoland Hall of Fame in a category alongside Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and Andre Dawson.

She led this system for eight seasons at Illinois-Chicago and returned to Penn State to work for Rose in 2018 — 4 years after the Nittany Lions' last Final Four appearance until last week.

Schumacher Cawley took over when Rose retired in 2022.

“After Russ Rose, to get the team back to the Final Four in just three years,” Busboom Kelly said, “regardless of being a man or a woman, that’s an amazing accomplishment.”

At the beginning of her third season this fall, Schumacher-Cawley announced a stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis and commenced chemotherapy. She lost her hair but never missed a practice together with her team.

“We obviously want to do this for her because she's been so great all season,” said Mruzik, who had a team-best 26 kills against Nebraska. “So this tough five-set win helped lay another foundation for the structure we want to build this season.”

Schumacher-Cawley deflects questions on her health and gender issues in coaching.

“I’m just really excited to represent Penn State,” she said.

Maybe, she said, you'll realize the magnitude of two women on the bench, each calling the shots on the sphere with a trophy, once they step out from under the lights on Sunday.

“I’m proud of this team,” said Schumacher-Cauley. “I think I said that every day. I’m proud of their fight.”

The fight goes beyond volleyball.

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When Busboom Kelly took over Louisville in 2017, she doubled the Cardinals' win total in a season from 12 to 24.

In 2019, Louisville reached the round of eight for the primary time. In 2021, Busboom Kelly was named National Coach of the Year because the Cardinals went undefeated until the Final Four, losing to Wisconsin in five sets. A 12 months later, Texas defeated Louisville for the national championship.

“She engineered one of the greatest turnarounds in any college volleyball program,” Cook said.

Busboom Kelly played for Cook at Nebraska from 2003 to 2006. He recruited her on a farm near Cortland Neb. She was a multi-sport star at tiny Adams Freeman High School.

In college, she switched from setter to libero and, together with future Olympians Jordan Larson and Sarah Pavan, helped the Huskers to a national championship in 2006. In 2015, she won one other title with Cook and the Huskers as an assistant coach.

A 12 months later she took over Louisville.

“I hope people appreciate what she’s done here,” Cook said.

Louisville fans appreciate Busboom Kelly due to reception she and the Cardinals received on Thursday.

“I think the last time I was on the mic talking about Dani, I called her tough,” Louisville middle blocker Phekran Kong said Friday on the championship preview press conference. “So I’m going to double that. Because she’s real.”

In the fourth set Thursday, middle blocker Cara Cresse Busboom promised Kelly she would deliver two blocks after DeBeer left with an injury that might keep the senior All-American out of the championship game.

Cress produced. The momentum turned. The Panthers fell apart late in the sport. Even sophomore opponent Olivia Babcock, who was named national player of the 12 months on Friday, felt the pressure. The cardinals accepted it.

“This is for all the people who doubted us,” Louisville outside hitter Charitie Luper said.

Her coach looked on and smiled.

More than simply breaking a glass ceiling, Busbom Kelly said Sunday she's excited that a lady will probably be coaching her team to the national championship so athletic directors and future players who might grow to be coaches understand it's possible.

“It’s more about being really proud of being able to be role models,” she said, “and hopefully breaking new ground.”

On April 17, 2024, lawmakers questioned Columbia University President Minouche Shafik and three colleagues about anti-Semitism on university campuses, just 4 months after three of their presidential colleagues went to Capitol Hill over the way in which their institutions responded within the wake of the Hamas attack Dealing with anti-Semitism on campus, Israel was summoned on October 7, 2023. Two of them resigned shortly afterwards. Here, Lynn Greenkya communications and rhetoric scholar, shares how Shafik handled being in the identical hot seat as her colleagues.

How was today's hearing different from the one on December fifth?

Unlike Claudine Gay, Liz Magill, and Sally Kornbluth—the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT, respectively—Shafik and the opposite Columbia University witnesses spoke with greater moral clarity in regards to the query of what constitutes anti-Semitism on campus. Of course, they’d the advantage of having the ability to see first what would occur for those who didn't do it.

Columbia's president, Minouche Shafik, in addition to David Schizer and David Greenwald, co-chairs of the Columbia University Task Force on Antisemitism, and co-chair of the Board of Trustees Claire Shipman, were willing to acknowledge their responsibility, even guilt, for his or her failure to have interaction in hate speech against Jews to discover and control on campus. Shipman, specifically, made it clear that Columbia is affected by a “moral crisis” on its campus.

All witnesses showed great deference to the committee. They even thanked the committee for the investigation and asked for its assist in combating anti-Semitism on campus. In fact, Shipman concluded her opening statement by saying she looks forward to the committee's input as Columbia seeks to realign its vision with its core values ​​of wisdom, empathy and respect.

What did the committee members say in regards to the faculty?

Professors Joseph Massad, Katherine Franke and Mohamed Abdu were mentioned by name.

Several members of the congressional committee singled out Massad for describing Hamas' attack on Israel on October 8, 2023 as… “great” and “innovative” in an internet article for particular scorn. Shafik promised the committee that Massad can be faraway from his position as chairman of Colombia's academic review board. their most important function is to “evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the program,” “promote planning and improvement,” and “provide guidance for administrative decisions.” Shafik also suggested that Massad might be fired, although his position was everlasting.

While some might argue that removing Massad as chair or firing him violates the professor's First Amendment right to academic freedom, it’s unclear whether this claim will save him. The Supreme Court has not provided any specific guidance on this matter Parameters of educational freedom. In fact, the concept of educational freedom generally refers to a scholar's freedom to conduct research, discussion, and teaching inside that scholar's field of research and in accordance with the institution's curriculum. Academic freedom just isn’t the identical as that of a professor individual right to specific one's opinion.

Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, a Republican from West Virginia, warned this radical faculty remain a significant problem in Columbia. She said she expects Columbia to make “tangible progress” toward sanctioning or removing radical faculty members. If not, she says, Columbia will probably be brought back before the committee.

Was there a conflict over what constituted hate speech?

Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, recalled a House resolution that condemned the phrase “river to sea” as anti-Semitic and urged Shafik to alter her mind previous statement This suggested that the mantra may constitute protected political speech under certain circumstances.

Shafik seemed unwilling to label students or faculty as those that engaged in hate and harassment. She tried hard, sometimes unsuccessfully, to say the necessity to balance constitutionally protected speech with the tutorial mission of the university.

Still, Shafik incessantly testified that the policies and structures in place before the Oct. 7 attack in Columbia were inadequate. In her written statement to the committeeShafik acknowledged that before Oct. 7, Columbia's process for reporting allegations of hate speech, harassment and other types of disruptive behavior needed to be simplified. She also said staff training needed to be improved. During her testimony, she acknowledged her personal horror on the hatred and vitriol expressed on campus each before and after October seventh.

What actions would Shafik and her colleagues take?

Shafik, Schizer and Shipman each repeated the refrain that they were aware of the mistakes and oversights made in response to events on campus that, they said, left Jewish students indignant and afraid. They said they’re working to revise policies and practices that will encourage vigorous debate while protecting student safety.

As a results of some preliminary recommendations from the Columbia Task Force on Antisemitism, the University has updated the harassment and discrimination reporting and response process.

How will all of this impact free speech on campus?

Rep. Foxx made it clear that outbreaks proceed to occur on campus The House of Representatives has deemed it anti-Semiticrisk the withdrawal of federal funds.

Certainly a university or university has a compelling interest in protecting the liberty, safety and integrity of its students, faculty and staff. However, as all the time, the devil is in the small print. It is difficult to search out the correct balance between promoting informed debate and protecting against crime. When colleges and universities tackle this task, I often consider that the liberty to specific one's own opinion suffers.