ESPN College GameDay announces Marcus Freeman as celebrity guest picker ahead of Notre Dame vs. Louisville

On Friday, ESPN announced Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman will be the celebrity guest picker on ESPN College GameDay‘s coverage of the Louisville-Notre Dame women’s basketball showdown on Sunday. Freeman is coming off a standout season, in which he led the Fighting Irish to a National Championship appearance before falling to Ohio State.

The game is both teams’ regular-season finale. Despite being the No. 3 team in the country, Notre Dame is on a two-game win streak and will undoubtedly be hungry to finish its regular season on a strong note.

Nonetheless, the Cardinals won’t make it easy for the Fighting Irish. Two of Louisville’s last three wins have been against ranked opponents. Moreover, the Cardinals were just four points away from upsetting No. 9 North Carolina last week.

After Notre Dame’s loss to Florida State on Thursday, Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey discussed the need for her team to bounce back.

“We got to get back to work. We have to have a will that we’re not having for 40 minutes,” Ivey said. “We have to learn from it and we have to turn the page because we have one on Sunday. We’re grateful we have another opportunity to play, another game.

“We put ourselves in position as far as winning 15 straight. But we really have to fix our defense and we have to have that will in order for us to get over this hump. But again, you can’t be too high or you can’t be too low but you have to fix it.”

As usual, the ESPN College GameDay crew covering the highly-anticipated women’s basketball showdown will include Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter. It’s safe to assume who Marcus Freeman will predict to win the marquee matchup on Sunday.

After all, Freeman is certainly on excellent terms with Notre Dame these days. In December, the 39-year-old head coach agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep him at the helm of the Fighting Irish through 2030.

FootballScoop and Irish Illustrated writer John Brice reported Freeman will earn more than $9 million annually, up from $7 million in the initial contract he signed. Additionally, Brice reported Freeman will have more money available to him to compensate his assistants.

Notre Dame and Louisville will square off at noon ET on Sunday inside Purcell Pavilion. The game will air live on ESPN.