Frank J. Matthews
Black head football coaches in the elite Power 4 conferences remain a small group for the 2025 college season. There are only 8 among the 68 teams that make up the Power 4. According to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) the number of Black football players continues to be roughly 46%, which is significantly more than the 12% the 8 Black head coaches represent.
Based on current AP rankings, the 8 head coaches have some of the biggest games of the season. And 3 of the 8 have good odds to make it into the College Football Playoff. Penn State and James Franklin are ranked the highest, currently at number 2. Followed by Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman at number 8 and Michigan and Serrone Moore at number 23.
Here’s a closer look at some of the biggest games for Black head coaches during the 2025 season:
UVA (Tony Elliott) vs. Florida State 9/26/25 – Florida State is currently ranked 10th so this will be a chance for Virginia to prove itself against a top ranked team.
Syracuse (Fran Brown) vs Clemson 9/20/25 – Clemson is currently ranked 12th over an unranked Syracuse, based on a close game last year Syracuse could pull off the upset.
Notre Dame (Marcus Freeman) vs Texas A&M 9/13/25 – Notre Dame is currently ranked 8th and Texas A&M is 16th. This matchup of top 25 ranked teams will be pivotal for both teams.
