Lou Holtz - # 358

Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz dies at age 89

Holtz spent parts of five decades as a college football head coach, leading four programs to Top 25 finishes and six schools to bowl games, an NCAA record. His politics drew heavy criticism a few times in his 31 years as a head college football coach and afterward.

 

He was number 358 on the list.

Lou Holtz, the College Football Hall of Fame coach who led Notre Dame to its last national title in 1988, died Wednesday. He was 89.

Holtz spent parts of five decades as a college football head coach, leading four programs to Top 25 finishes and six schools to bowl games, an NCAA record. While he didn’t last a full season in his lone stint in the NFL with the New York Jets in 1976 and he was dogged by controversy at times, Holtz’s 11-year run at Notre Dame cemented his status as one of the game’s great coaches.

“Notre Dame mourns the loss of Lou Holtz, a legendary football coach, a beloved member of the Notre Dame family and devoted husband, father and grandfather,” Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd said in a news release.

“Among his many accomplishments, we will remember him above all as a teacher, leader and mentor who brought out the very best in his players, on and off the field, earning their respect and admiration for a lifetime. ... Whenever Notre Dame called to ask for his help, Lou answered with his characteristic generosity, and he will be sorely missed.”

Coming off years of mediocrity, Notre Dame hired Holtz before the 1986 season and by 1988 he had built the Fighting Irish back into a title-contending team. Led by quarterback Tony Rice, running backs Mark Green and Ricky Watters along with receiver/kick returner Raghib Ismail, the Fighting Irish beat four ranked teams and finished 12-0.

“Everyone told me why we couldn’t win,” Holtz wrote. “The academic standards, the tough schedule, the no-redshirting policy, the lack of an athletic dormitory — all those were reasons people gave me why Notre Dame would never be great again.”

The biggest test that season came on Oct. 15, 1988, when Notre Dame faced Miami, which was ranked No. 1 and coached by Jimmy Johnson at the time. Billed as “Catholics vs. Convicts,” Notre Dame won 31-30 to end the Hurricanes’ 36-game regular-season win.

Notre Dame finished atop the AP and coaches poll after a 34-21 victory against the third-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers at the Fiesta Bowl. Holtz coached Notre Dome to one-loss seasons in 1989 and 1993, finishing second in the polls each season.

He stepped down in 1996 after compiling a 100-30-2 record at the school.

After two years working for CBS Sports, Holtz returned to the sideline with South Carolina. He was selected as the 2000 SEC Coach of the Year and led the Gamecocks to consecutive postseason bowls for the first time in school history. But his six-season tenure ended after his team and Clemson were involved a 10-minute brawl in November 2004, which led both schools to forgo bowl bids.

His final career record was 249-132-7.

South Carolina was put on probation after Holtz’s departure, the third such Holtz-led program to be sanctioned by the NCAA.

Holtz returned to television, this time for ESPN where he spent a decade as a college football analyst.

A staunch Republican, Holtz drew heavy criticism a few times in his 31 years as a head college football coach and afterward. He backed Republican Jesse Helms, a longtime opponent to civil rights legislation, in a reelection bid while Holtz was a coach at Arkansas in the early 1980s. Isn't amazing what these brain dead journalists call controversial? 

Holtz endorsed Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign and his comments on immigration cost him speaking engagements. He called the immigrants coming to the U.S. an “invasion” and criticized immigrants for not assimilating.

“I don’t want to become you,” Holtz said at a Republican pro-life luncheon in July 2016. “I don’t want to speak your language. I don’t want to celebrate your holidays. I sure as hell don’t want to cheer for your soccer team.”

Holtz flirted with the idea of running for Congress in 2009, although he decided not to enter the race for a Florida seat.

e served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York Jets (1976), the University of Arkansas (1977–1983), the University of Minnesota (1984–1985), the University of Notre Dame (1986–1996), and the University of South Carolina (1999–2004), compiling a career college head coaching record of 249–132–7.

After retiring from coaching, Holtz worked as a TV college football analyst for CBS Sports in the 1990s and ESPN from 2005 until 2015. Holtz was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Holtz was born in Follansbee, West Virginia, the son of Anne Marie (Tychonievich) and Andrew Holtz, a bus driver. His father was of German and Irish descent, while his maternal grandparents were emigrants from Chernobyl, Ukraine. He was raised as a Catholic.

Holtz grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, and graduated from East Liverpool High School in 1954. He then attended Kent State University, where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity and was a walk-on for the Kent State football team. He worked part-time at the East Liverpool Review to afford attending college. Holtz also trained under Kent State's U.S. Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps and earned a commission as a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army Reserve. Holtz graduated in 1959 with a bachelor's degree in history. He then received a master's degree in arts and education from the University of Iowa in 1961.

Holtz's first job as head coach came in 1969 at the College of William & Mary, who played in the Southern Conference at that time. He led the 1970 William & Mary Indians (now Tribe) to the Southern Conference title and a berth in the Tangerine Bowl.

Holtz was elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1983, and the Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame in 1998. On December 3, 2020, Holtz was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump.

Holtz appeared as himself in a Discover Card commercial in November 2011. A 1994 episode of Coach had the protagonist Hayden Fox covertly traveling to a nation under sanction from the United States in an attempt to sign a native who is an incredible place kicker, only to find Lou Holtz has beaten him to the punch, signing the kicker for Notre Dame. Holtz also played himself in the movie The Blind Side.

Holtz worked for CBS Sports as a college football analyst and in the same capacity for the cable network ESPN. He worked on the secondary studio team, located in Bristol as opposed to the game site. He typically appeared on pregame, halftime, and postgame shows of college football games. In addition, he appeared on College Football Scoreboard, College Football Final, College Football Live, SportsCenter, and the occasional game. He typically partnered with Rece Davis and Mark May. Holtz came under scrutiny after referencing Adolf Hitler in an on-air comment while appearing on College Football Live in 2008. In his analysis of Michigan Wolverines head coach Rich Rodriguez, Holtz stated sarcastically, "Ya know, Hitler was a great leader, too." The next day, Holtz apologized for the comment during halftime of a game between Clemson and Georgia Tech. On April 12, 2015, it was reported by SB Nation that Holtz was leaving ESPN.

 

Head coaching record

College

Year     Team   Overall            Conference      Standing          Bowl/playoffs  Coaches#         AP°

William & Mary Indians (Southern Conference) (1969–1971)

1969    William & Mary          3–7      2–2      4th                              

1970    William & Mary          5–7      3–1      1st        L Tangerine                

1971    William & Mary          5–6      4–1      2nd                             

William & Mary:         13–20  9–4     

NC State Wolfpack (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1972–1975)

1972    NC State          8–3–1  4–1–1  2nd      W Peach                      17

1973    NC State          9–3      6–0      1st        W Liberty                    16

1974    NC State          9–2–1  4–2      2nd      T Astro-Bluebonnet     9          11

1975    NC State          7–4–1  2–2–1  4th       L Peach                      

NC State:         33–12–3          16–5–2           

Arkansas Razorbacks (Southwest Conference) (1977–1983)

1977    Arkansas         11–1    7–1      2nd      W Orange        3          3

1978    Arkansas         9–2–1  6–2      2nd      T Fiesta            10        11

1979    Arkansas         10–2    7–1      T–1st   L Sugar            9          8

1980    Arkansas         7–5      3–5      6th       W Hall of Fame Classic                     

1981    Arkansas         8–4      5–3      4th       L Gator            16       

1982    Arkansas         9–2–1  5–2–1  3rd       W Astro-Bluebonnet   8          9

1983    Arkansas         6–5      4–4      5th                              

Arkansas:        60–21–2          37–18–1         

Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference) (1984–1985)

1984    Minnesota        4–7      3–6      8th                              

1985    Minnesota        6–5      4–4      6th       Independence[n 1]                 

Minnesota:       10–12  7–10   

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Independent) (1986–1996)

1986    Notre Dame     5–6                                                     

1987    Notre Dame     8–4                              L Cotton                      17

1988    Notre Dame     12–0                            W Fiesta          1          1

1989    Notre Dame     12–1                            W Orange        3          2

1990    Notre Dame     9–3                              L Orange         6          6

1991    Notre Dame     10–3                            W Sugar          12        13

1992    Notre Dame     10–1–1                                    W Cotton†       4          4

1993    Notre Dame     11–1                            W Cotton†       2          2

1994    Notre Dame     6–5–1                          L Fiesta†                     

1995    Notre Dame     9–3                              L Orange†       13        11

1996    Notre Dame     8–3                                          21        19

Notre Dame:    100–30–2                   

South Carolina Gamecocks (Southeastern Conference) (1999–2004)

1999    South Carolina            0–11    0–8      6th (Eastern)                           

2000    South Carolina            8–4      5–3      2nd (Eastern)   W Outback      21        19

2001    South Carolina            9–3      5–3      3rd (Eastern)    W Outback      13        13

2002    South Carolina            5–7      3–5      4th (Eastern)                           

2003    South Carolina            5–7      2–6      4th (Eastern)                           

2004    South Carolina            6–5      4–4      3rd (Eastern)                           

South Carolina:           33–37  19–29 

Total:   249–132–7