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Lou Holtz
Sport	Football
Born	January 6, 1937 (1937-01-06) (age 70)
Place of birth	Follansbee, WV
Career highlights
Overall	NCAA: 249-132-7 (8th All-Time Division I-A By Victories) NFL: 3-10
Bowls	12-8-2
Coaching stats
College Football DataWarehouse
Championships
1 National Championship (1988)
Awards
National Coach of the Year (1977, 1988) SEC Coach of the Year (2000) ACC Coach of the Year (1972)
Playing career
1956-57	Kent State
Position	LB
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1969-1971 1972-1975 1976 1977-1983 1984-1985 1986-1996 1999-2004	William & Mary North Carolina State New York Jets Arkansas Minnesota Notre Dame South Carolina

Louis Leo Holtz (born on January 6, 1937 in Follansbee, West Virginia) is an author, television commentator, motivational speaker, and former NCAA football and NFL head coach. Holtz is the only coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to final top 20 rankings. He is also a multiple winner of Coach of the Year honors. After growing up in East Liverpool, Ohio and graduating from East Liverpool High School, Holtz attended Kent State University. He was a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity, played football, and graduated in 1959. Over the years, the slender, bespectacled Holtz has become known for his quick wit and ability to inspire players. In 2005 Holtz joined ESPN as a college football analyst. On April 21, 2007, Holtz made an appearance as an honorary head coach, along with Ara Parseghian, for Notre Dame's annual Blue-Gold Game, a yearly intra-squad scrimmage that marks the end of spring football practice for the Irish. Holtz guided the Gold team to a 10-6 victory.^[1]

Contents 1 Early career 2 William & Mary 3 N.C. State 4 New York Jets 5 Arkansas 6 Minnesota 7 Notre Dame 7.1 First retirement 8 South Carolina 8.1 Second retirement 8.2 Firsts at South Carolina under Coach Holtz 9 Books 10 Broadcasting career 11 Personal life 12 Trivia 13 Coaching record 14 References 15 External links

Holtz began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1960 at the University of Iowa where he received his Master's degree. From there, he made stops as an assistant at William & Mary (1961-63), Connecticut (1964-65), South Carolina (1966-67), and Ohio State (1968). The Buckeyes won the national championship during Holtz's season in Columbus.

Holtz's first job as head coach was at William & Mary, then playing in the Southern Conference, starting in 1969. In 1970, the Holtz-led Tribe won the Southern Conference title and played in the Tangerine Bowl. As of 2007, it was the only bowl game in which a William & Mary team has ever played. Since Holtz's tenure there, William & Mary dropped to Division I-AA.

In 1972, Holtz moved to North Carolina State University and had a 31-11-2 record in four seasons. His team played in four bowl games, winning two, losing one, and tying one.

Holtz's lone foray into the professional ranks consisted of one season with the New York Jets in 1976. He resigned with one game remaining in the season after going 3-10.

Holtz went to the University of Arkansas in 1977. In his seven years there, the Razorbacks compiled a 60-21-2 record and reached six bowl games. In his rookie season with the Razorbacks, he led Arkansas to a berth in the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma, coached by Arkansas alumnus Barry Switzer. The Sooners were in position to win their third national championship in four seasons after top-ranked Texas lost to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl earlier in the day. Holtz had suspended his team's top two running backs for the Orange Bowl for disciplinary reasons. However, behind 205 yards rushing from reserve running back Roland Sales, the Hogs defeated the Sooners 31-6. Holtz was dismissed following a 6-5 campaign in 1983.

Main article: Minnesota Golden Gophers football under Lou Holtz

Holtz accepted the head coach job at the University of Minnesota before the 1984 season. The Golden Gophers had won only four games in the previous two seasons but had a winning record in 1985 and were invited to the Independence Bowl, where they defeated Clemson, 20-13. Holtz did not coach the Gophers in that bowl game, as he had already accepted the head coaching position at Notre Dame. His contract included a "Notre Dame clause" that allowed him to leave if the Notre Dame coaching job were to become available.

In 1986, Holtz left Minnesota to take over the then-struggling Notre Dame program and wasted no time turning it around. A taskmaster and strict disciplinarian, he got the players' attention right away at their first team meeting upon his introduction. Although his 1986 squad posted an identical 5-6 mark that the 1985 edition had, five of their six losses were by a combined total of 14 points. In the season finale against archrival Southern Cal, the Irish overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit and pulled out a 38-37 win over the stunned Trojans. In his second season, Holtz led the Fighting Irish to an appearance in the Cotton Bowl, where the Irish lost to Texas A&M, 35-10. The following year, Notre Dame won all 11 of their regular season games and defeated third-ranked West Virginia 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl, claiming the national championship. The 1989 squad also won their first 11 games (and in the process set a school record with a 23-game winning streak) and remained in the #1 spot all season until losing to Miami in the season finale. A 21-6 win over Colorado in the Orange Bowl gave the Irish a second-place ranking in the final standings as well as back-to-back 12-win seasons for the first time in school history. Holtz's 1993 Irish team ended the season with an 11-1 record and ranked second in the final AP poll. Although the Florida State Seminoles were defeated by the Irish in a battle of unbeatens during the regular season and both teams had only 1 loss at season's end (Notre Dame lost to unranked Boston College), FSU was then voted national champion in the final 1993 AP and Coaches poll. Between 1988 and 1993, Holtz's teams posted an overall 64-9-1 docket. He also took the Irish to bowl games for nine consecutive seasons, still a Notre Dame record.

Holtz left Notre Dame after the 1996 season and walked away from a lifetime contract for undisclosed reasons. When pressed, all he would say was that "it was the right thing to do." It is widely believed that concerns about his wife's health after she was diagnosed with throat cancer prompted him to step down.^{[citation needed]} Holtz himself indicated that he did not wish to move past Knute Rockne in career victories at Notre Dame (his overall record at Notre Dame was 100-30-2).^{[citation needed]} He was succeeded by defensive coordinator Bob Davie.

In 1996, two members of the Minnesota Vikings's ownership board, Wheelock Whitney and Jaye Dyer, reportedly contacted Holtz. They wanted to bring him in to replace Dennis Green.^[2] Of the rumors surrounding the reasons for Holtz's retirement, one of them was the possible Vikings head coaching position.^[3]

After two seasons as a commentator for CBS Sports, Holtz came out of retirement in 1999 and returned to South Carolina, where he had been an assistant in the 1960s. Holtz was famous for quickly rebuilding teams, but the South Carolina program had fallen to the worst level in its history. The year before Holtz arrived, the Gamecocks went 1-10, so Holtz was faced with possibly the greatest challenge of his coaching career. When the team went 0-11 during Holtz' first season, people around Columbia started to say things like, "If Holtz can't rebuild the Gamecocks, nobody can."

During the off-season, Holtz campaigned for a "change in attitude," and the results were astounding. In his second season, the Gamecocks went 8-4, winning the Outback Bowl over heavily favored Ohio State. The eight-game improvement from the previous year was the best in the nation in 2000 and the third best single season turnaround in NCAA history.^[4] In his third season, Holtz continued to confound the naysayers, leading the Gamecocks to a 9-3 record and another Outback Bowl victory over Ohio State. The nine wins for the season were the second highest total in the history of the program. It would also be the pinnacle for Holtz at South Carolina.

Despite successful recruiting efforts, the following two seasons ended with 5-7 records. Speculation began to circulate that the favoritism Holtz had shown toward certain players, particularly the troubled Derek Watson, poisoned the locker room. Discipline deteriorated, and the Gamecocks did not play up to its talent level.

Before his sixth and final season, Holtz tried to rally his players by letting them select their all-black uniforms. The ominous-looking Gamecocks turned in a dark 6-5 record, but it was the 11th game that demonstrated how Holtz had lost control of his team.

On November 18, 2004, Holtz announced that he would retire at the end of the season. His wife, Beth, had been struggling with her health for a number of years, and it was apparent that Holtz was worn out. Unfortunately, on November 21, 2004, the South Carolina-Clemson brawl took place during Holtz' last regular season game. Instead of ending his career at a post-season bowl game, which was expected, the two universities announced that each would penalize their respective football programs for their unsportsmanlike conduct by declining any bowl game invitations. At his last press conference as South Carolina's coach, Holtz said it was ironic that he and former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes both would be remembered for "getting into a fight at the Clemson game" (referring to an incident at the 1978 Gator Bowl where Hayes punched a Clemson player in the neck after making an interception). Holtz also alluded to his assistance in recruiting his successor, Steve Spurrier.

• Winning two consecutive New Year's Day Bowl games (2001, 2002 Outback Bowls)
• Finishing with top 20 national rankings for two straight years (19th in 2000 and 13th in 2001)
• Ranked in the national polls for an entire season (2001)
• The most victories in consecutive seasons (17 from 2000-01)
• Record-setting home attendance (82,614 average in 2001 and 82,138 in 2002)
• Most national television appearances in a three-year period (18)
• Most players (11) to sign NFL contracts in one season (2002 and again in 2003)
• Back-to-back top 10 rated recruiting classes (2002, 2003)

Holtz is the author of five books.

• The Kitchen Quarterback, Parkin, 1980. (ASIN B0006XJC3C)

• The Fighting Spirit: A Championship Season at Notre Dame (co-written with John Heisler), Random House, 1991. (ISBN 0-671-67673-3)

• Winning Every Day, Collins, 1998. (ISBN 0-887-30904-6)

• Wins, Losses, and Lessons, William Morrow, 2006. (ISBN 0-06-084080-3)

• A Teen's Game Plan for Life (revised), Sorin Books, 2007. (ISBN 1-933495-09-X)

Holtz has worked for CBS Sports as a college football analyst and currently works in the same capacity for the cable network ESPN. His main duty is to provide analysis for College Gameday Final.

Holtz was married to the former Beth Barcus on July 22, 1961. They are parents of four children, three of whom are Notre Dame graduates. Their eldest son, Skip, is currently head football coach at East Carolina University. Holtz is on the Catholic Advisory Board of the Ave Maria Mutual Funds, and gives motivational speeches. Coach Holtz is also a member at the famed Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The Lou Holtz/Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame, located in East Liverpool, Ohio, houses Lou Holtz memorabilia, and serves as a charity fundraiser for area residents and cultural development.
• Holtz attended Saint Aloysius School in East Liverpool, OH when he was a child. It was run by the Sisters of Notre Dame, who played a recording of the Victory March every day during lunch and recess.^{[citation needed]}
• Holtz had the names removed from the backs of the player's jerseys when he took over at Notre Dame, wanting to emphasize team effort. Except for the 1988 Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M, names have not been included on Notre Dame's team jerseys ever since.
• In 1966, Holtz made out a list of 108 goals to accomplish during his life. Among them were coaching at Notre Dame and winning a national championship.^{[citation needed]}
• A stretch of highway near East Liverpool Ohio, Holtz home town was named after him. The high way has since earned the nickname, The Ohio autobahn.
• Holtz and current Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino share something in common: They are the only two coaches in NFL history to quit after thier first 13 games into their NFL coaching careers to accept the head coaching position at the University of Arkansas. Holtz did this in 1976 with the New York Jets and Petrino in 2007 with the Atlanta Falcons.

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl	Rank#
William & Mary (Southern Conference) (1969 – 1971)
1969	William & Mary	3-7	2-2	4
1970	William & Mary	5-7	3-1	1	L 12-40 (Toledo) Tangerine Bowl
1971	William & Mary	5-6	4-1	2
William & Mary:		13-20	9-4
North Carolina State (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1972 – 1975)
1972	North Carolina State	8-3-1	4-1-1	2	W 49-13 (WVU) Peach Bowl
1973	North Carolina State	9-3	6-0	1	W 31-18 (Kansas) Liberty Bowl
1974	North Carolina State	9-2-1	4-2	2	T 31-31 (Houston) Bluebonnet Bowl	9
1975	North Carolina State	7-4-1	2-2-1	4	L 10-13 (WVU) Peach Bowl
North Carolina State:		33-12-3	16-5-2
Arkansas (Southeast Conference) (1977 – 1983)
1977	Arkansas	11-1	7-1	2	W 31-6 (Okla) Orange Bowl	3
1978	Arkansas	9-2-1	6-2	2	T 10-10 (UCLA) Fiesta Bowl	10
1979	Arkansas	10-2	7-1	1 (t)	L 24-9 (Bama) Sugar Bowl	9
1980	Arkansas	7-5	3-5	6	W 34-14 (Tulane) Hall of Fame Classic
1981	Arkansas	8-4	5-3	4	L 27-31 (UNC) Gator Bowl	16
1982	Arkansas	9-2-1	5-2-1	3	W 28-24 (UF) Bluebonnet Bowl	8
1983	Arkansas	6-5	4-4	5
Arkansas:		60-21-2	37-18-1
Minnesota (Big Ten Conference) (1984 – 1985)
1984	Minnesota	4-7	3-6	8
1985	Minnesota	6-5	4-4	6
Minnesota:		10-12	7-10
Notre Dame (Independent) (1986 – 1996)
1986	Notre Dame	5-6
1987	Notre Dame	8-4			L 10-35 (TAMU) Cotton Bowl
1988	Notre Dame	12-0			W 34-21 (WVU) Fiesta Bowl	1
1989	Notre Dame	12-1			W 21-6 (CU) Orange Bowl	3
1990	Notre Dame	9-3			L 9-10 (CU) Orange Bowl	6
1991	Notre Dame	10-3			W 39-28 (UF) Sugar Bowl	12
1992	Notre Dame	10-1-1			W 28-3 (TAMU) Cotton Bowl	4
1993	Notre Dame	11-1			W 24-21 (TAMU) Cotton Bowl	2
1994	Notre Dame	6-5-1			L 24-41 (CU) Fiesta Bowl
1995	Notre Dame	9-3			L 26-31 (FSU) Orange Bowl	13
1996	Notre Dame	8-3				21
Notre Dame:		100-30-2
South Carolina (Southeastern Conference) (1999 – 2004)
1999	South Carolina	0-11	0-8	6 - East
2000	South Carolina	8-4	5-3	2 - East	W 24-7 (OSU) Outback Bowl	21
2001	South Carolina	9-3	5-3	3 - East	W 31-28 (OSU) Outback Bowl	13
2002	South Carolina	5-7	3-5	4 - East
2003	South Carolina	5-7	2-6	4 - East
2004	South Carolina	6-5	4-4	3 - East
South Carolina:		33-37	19-29
Total:		249-132-7
National Championship         Conference Title         Conference Division Title
#Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season.

• The Razorback Legacy - Lou Holtz - Record / Bio
• Audio excerpt and chapter from autobiograpy Wins, Losses, and Lessons (Official publisher web page)
• Lou Holtz Motivational Training Videos and DVDs
• Beliefnet Interview with Lou Holtz (includes audio)
• Lou Holtz Quotes
• Lou Holtz leadership

Preceded by Johnny Majors Dick MacPherson	Paul "Bear" Bryant Award 1977 1988	Succeeded by Joe Paterno Bill McCartney
Preceded by Frank R. Burns	Walter Camp Coach of the Year 1977	Succeeded by Warren Powers
Preceded by Marv Levy	William & Mary Head Football Coach 1969–1971	Succeeded by Jim Root
Preceded by Al Michaels	North Carolina State University Head Football Coach 1972–1975	Succeeded by Bo Rein
Preceded by Ken Shipp	New York Jets Head Coach 1976	Succeeded by Mike Holovak
Preceded by Frank Broyles	University of Arkansas Head Football Coach 1977–1983	Succeeded by Ken Hatfield
Preceded by Joe Salem	University of Minnesota Head Football Coach 1984–1985	Succeeded by John Gutekunst
Preceded by Gerry Faust	University of Notre Dame Head Football Coach 1986–1996	Succeeded by Bob Davie
Preceded by Brad Scott	University of South Carolina Head Football Coach 1999–2004	Succeeded by Steve Spurrier

v • d • e William & Mary Tribe head football coaches
Wright • Armstrong • King • Burke • Davall • Blanchard • Withers • Barry • O'Hearn • W. Young • Draper • Hubbard • H. Young • Geddy • Driver • Fincher • Ingram • Tasker • Bocock • Kellison • Dowler • Voyles • McCray • Bass • Freeman • Drewer • Levy • Holtz • Root • Laycock

v • d • e NC State Wolfpack Head Football Coaches
Busbee • Gatling • Riddick • McKee • Devlin • Keinholz • Whitney • Heston • Whitehurst • Green • Hegarty • Paterson •Hartsell • Stafford • Fetzer • Shaw • Tebell • Van Liew • Smith • Anderson • Newton • Feathers • Hendrickson • Edwards • Michaels • Holtz • Rein • Kiffin • Reed • Sheridan • O'Cain • Amato • O'Brien

v • d • e New York Titans/Jets Head Coaches
Baugh • Turner • Ewbank • Winner • Shipp • Holtz • Holovak • Michaels • Walton • Coslet • Carroll • Kotite • Parcells • Groh • Edwards • Mangini

v • d • e Arkansas Razorbacks Head Football Coaches
Futrall • Wilson • Searles • Thomas • McDaniel • Craig • Brown • Longman • Bezdek • Pickering • McConnell • Paine • McLaren • Schmidt • Thomsen • Cole • Tomlin • Rose • Barnhill • Douglas • Wyatt • Mitchell • Broyles • Holtz • Hatfield • Crowe • Kines (interim) • Ford • Nutt • Herring (interim) • Petrino

v • d • e Minnesota Golden Gophers Head Football Coaches
Peebles • Jones • D. W. McCord • A. McCord • F. Heffelfinger • Morse • Eck • Moulton • Winter • Cochrane • W. Heffelfinger • Jerrems • Minds • Harrison • Leary • Williams • Spaulding • Spears • Crisler • Bierman • Hauser • Fesler • Warmath • Stoll • Salem • Holtz • Gutekunst • Wacker • Mason • Brewster

v • d • e Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head Football Coaches
Morison • Hadden • Hering • McWeeney • O'Dea • Faragher • Salmon • McGlew • Barry • Place • Longman • Marks • Harper • Rockne • Anderson • Layden • Leahy • McKeever • Brennan • Devore • Kuharich • Parseghian • Devine • Faust • Holtz • Davie • Willingham • Weis

v • d • e South Carolina Gamecocks Head Football Coaches
Whaley • Murphy • Wertenbaker • Hunt • Dickson • Williams • Benet • McKay • Neff • Edgerton • Warren • Foster • Dobson • Metzger • Bocock • Lightsey • Laval • McCallister • Enright • Moran • Newton • McMillan • Giese • Bass • Dietzel • Carlen • Bell • Morrison • Woods • Scott • Holtz • Spurrier