See It: Marcus Freeman Rocks ‘The Shirt’ at Notre Dame Practice

There are some places where certain head coaches would succeed and others they wouldn't, based solely on personality fit.

Brian Kelly did a lot of things right at Notre Dame, turning around what had been an underachieving program for 15 years before his arrival. However, Kelly at Notre Dame always felt like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, personality-wise.

Freeman on the other hand, feels like someone who has been a part of the Notre Dame community since he was a kid. That was on display again at Wednesday morning's practice, with what Freeman decided to wear.

Marcus Freeman Dons 'The Shirt' at Notre Dame Football Practice

Marcus Freeman: Big fan of The Shirt. pic.twitter.com/iu6kMfi3W8
— Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) August 6, 2025

Oftentimes, we see Marcus Freeman coaching during practice in some kind of shirt that isn't available to the public. Instead, Freeman went with "The Shirt" on Wednesday, something that has become a part of Notre Dame's culture over the last three decades.

Notre Dame's History of 'The Shirt'

Every college has hundreds of shirts in their bookstores with team names and logos on them, but Notre Dame's "The Shirt" is a bit different as it connects fans and raises money annually.

From the Notre Dame website:

The Shirt Project began in 1990 as a means to raise money to fund Notre Dame student activities – a cause it continues to support today. In the spring of 1990, senior Brennan Harvath ’91, then Chairman of AnTostal, had the idea to sell T-shirts to raise funds for AnTostal, the Student Union Board’s spring festival. The shirt created for the fundraiser was also intended to unify the student body for the home-opener football game against Michigan on September 15, 1990. Over 9,000 shirts were sold and sales reached over $17,000.

Due to the popularity of The Shirt 1990, the program continued the following year with the successor Chairman of AnTostal once again coordinating the project. As the success and renown of The Shirt increased, revenue exceeded the needs of the Student Union Board. Thus, The Shirt Project became its own student organization, and student leaders decided to distribute annual profits to other student organizations.

Since 1990 The Shirt Project has grown to provide a major source of income to student clubs and organizations. Thanks to funds provided by the Project, the activity fee charged annually to students has not been raised since 2004. Although The Shirt Project aims to sell as many Shirts as possible each year, its ultimate goal is to benefit the students of Notre Dame.

Loyal to Notre Dame ☘️#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/ywH4yIKVxg
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 6, 2025

Following the success of the “T-shirt for the Cause,” The Shirt Project continued to support students with extreme medical expenses. In 1993, funds from the Project aided a student who had been paralyzed. Additional proceeds were used to establish memorial scholarships in the names of Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hipp, two members of the varsity swimming team who died in a bus accident the previous year.

The charitable aspect of the “T-shirt for the Cause” campaign continues to this day, as half of the funds raised from sales of The Shirt are allocated to The Shirt Charity Fund, which supports Notre Dame students who suffer from extraordinary medical conditions that require payment beyond their means.