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Marcus Freeman's Travel Blog – Days 6 & 7

Katy Lonergan is the Associate Athletics Director for Strategic and Football Communications at Notre Dame. She is joining Dick Corbett Head Coach Marcus Freeman as he travels around different parts of the country visiting with Notre Dame Alumni Clubs, representing Notre Dame Football at various fundraising events.

Day 1 // Days 2 & 3 // Days 4 & 5

Monday, May 15

We are back! After having a week in the office in South Bend, Coach Freeman is back on the road! First stop this week is Denver and a visit with the Denver Alumni Club. He was able to take Coach Parker along for the ride, dropping him off in Omaha so he could get back on the road recruiting after a weekend at home.

Also joining Coach Freeman on the flight were some fellow Notre Dame coaches, past and present. Following the Denver event, Notre Dame is hosting a Sports Summit in Colorado Springs so Hall of Fame and two-time national champion women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw, four-time national champion volleyball coach Salima Rockwell and five-time national champion fencing coach Gia Kvaratskhelia–so needless to say he was in great company, although I can confirm there were no card games played on this flight.

 

5:50 p.m.

Upon arriving at the Hyatt for the Denver Alumni Club event, our first stop was to do a television interview with our very own Ryan Harris. Harris, who was a four-year starter for Notre Dame as an offensive lineman and went on to become a Super Bowl Champion with the Denver Broncos, serves as the radio analyst for the Notre Dame Radio Network.

 

6:00 p.m.

The Denver event kept to the same programming as the previous alumni club events, beginning with a VIP meet and greet, giving Coach Freeman an opportunity to shake hands and take photos with several members of the club. A highlight during the VIP portion of the event was Coach Freeman getting to connect with former Notre Dame and Denver Broncos (also a Super Bowl Champion) safety David Bruton Jr. Bruton, who still lives in the Denver area following his retirement from the NFL, is a licensed physical therapist and has his own practice.

Harris served as the host of the event, which had over 350 people in attendance. Dolly Duffy was again on hand to host a fun fireside chat, giving the Irish fans in the room a great view of Coach Freeman and the way he is leading the football program. Additionally, special teams coordinator Marty Biagi was able to attend the event in Denver, as he was recruiting in the area. Notre Dame fans enjoyed getting to connect with Marty also.

Harris ended the event by asking some questions from the audience. And right on cue, Coach Freeman was back to entertaining questions about the transfer portal and NIL.

 

8:15 p.m.

With the Denver Alumni Club event in the rear view mirror, Coach Freeman was able to have dinner with Harris, Biagi and new Denver Broncos offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey. McGlinchey had tried to make it to the alumni club event, but couldn’t make it work. Thankfully he was able to catch up with us later.

 

Tuesday, May 16

 

10:00 a.m.

We had plans to depart Denver and head to the Sports Summit in Colorado Springs, but an opportunity to stop at the Broncos facility and sit down with head coach Sean Payton came first. Coach Freeman was able to connect with Coach Payton for about an hour and half, picking his brain on various topics, including leading an organization and the differences between college football and the NFL.

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11:30 a.m.

Off to Colorado Springs, making it to the Sports Summit in time for the opening luncheon, which was held at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. The theme of this year’s summit is Sports Performance: The High Performance Model, so partnering with the USOPTC was a natural fit.

 

2:00 p.m.

After lunch and a session on the Olympic Approach to Sports Performance, we headed to the stunning Broadmoor Hotel, our home for the next two days. It was a chance for Coach Freeman to get a workout in and catch up on some recruiting calls. As I mentioned in a previous post, none of the work stops for him despite being out on the road. And despite the fact that he cannot go out on the road himself, he makes it a priority to stay connected with all of our recruits and their families.

 

7:00 p.m.

The Sports Summit dinner was held at the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum. It was a great time to not only mingle with the attendees of the summit, but also a chance for Coach Freeman to spend some time with the five current Notre Dame Football players who were invited to attend the summit. Defensive linemen Rylie Mills and Javontae Jean-Baptiste, wide receivers Jayden Thomas and Tobias Merriweather and cornerback Benjamin Morrison each made their way to Colorado Springs in time for dinner. All will be taking part in panels on Wednesday and Jayden opened the dinner by asking the attendees to wish Happy Birthday to Javontae as he was celebrating his 23rd birthday! Jayden then led the group in a prayer before Mike Golic Sr., took over the MC duties for the evening.

The museum was amazing. There were numerous simulators for people to interact with and have the chance to feel like an Olympian for a moment. Additionally, there were many great photo ops and our guys definitely like taking a good pic!

The first day of the Sports Summit came to a close around 9:30 p.m., and it was time to rest with a 7:30 a.m. start to Wednesday on tap.

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