Marcus Freeman Shares Thoughts on Shane Gillis' Notre Dame Loyalty

There are few new names in comedy in recent years that can come close to touching Shane Gillis, and it just so happens that Gillis is a die-hard Notre Dame fan.

Gillis was on campus this past weekend as he was part of musician Zach Bryan's concert at Notre Dame Stadium Saturday night. Gillis performed a stand-up routine before Bryan rocked out in front of the over 80,000 who attended.

On Monday, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was asked about Gillis and his connection to Notre Dame.

Marcus Freeman on Notre Dame Super Fan Shane Gillis

Ending the Summer with an all night revival at Notre Dame with Shane Gillis and Zach Bryan. Let’s go! pic.twitter.com/xfCnVtm5us
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) September 7, 2025

Freeman was asked about Gillis during Monday's press conference and shared the following:

"I had a chance to watch a little bit of college football, and I saw a commercial pop up where he was wearing a Texas Longhorn shirt." Freeman said, "And so I haven't given him crap for that yet."

"Shane's an awesome human, right. I've got a chance to spend some time with him, got a chance to talk to him. And you know, he's got a lot of notoriety just because of who he is and the way he really performs his his craft, but we appreciate the support, right?

We appreciate him and the support he gives our program. And so, you know, it's always good to have somebody like Shane Gillis, you know, support you guys, and, you know, helps you recruiting, I guess, and makes us kind of cool, I guess.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

Who gave @shanemgillis a whistle? 🤨 pic.twitter.com/pIuJIqCJNT
— Under Armour (@UnderArmour) August 28, 2025

I don't know if Shane Gillis openly being a Notre Dame fan is what makes Notre Dame cool, but something tells me if Freeman wasn't the head coach, some of this wouldn't be happening.

Gillis might have still made appearances on College GameDay when Notre Dame has been featured like he has, but would he have been in the locker room after Notre Dame beat Texas A&M last year? Or would he be as available to pose for pictures with recruits like we've seen in recent years?

For being such a massive brand, Notre Dame has lacked that celebrity super fan outside of, really, Regis Philbin. Others like Jon Bon Jovi attend games and don't hide their Notre Dame fandom, but to have a top standup comic at his career peak being loud about Notre Dame is a pleasant change.

I can only imagine what some of the Notre Dame old-timers think when they hear some of his standup routines.