• Faith: Christian - Catholic
• Career: Coach
• Birthday:  January 06, 1937
• Date of Death:  March 04, 2026

Louis Leo “Lou” Holtz was a former college football coach, television analyst, and motivational speaker, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of college football. Holtz’s career spanned more than three decades as a head coach at multiple universities, culminating in his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Holtz was born to Anne Marie (Tychonievich) and Andrew Holtz, a bus driver, in the steel-producing region of West Virginia. His father was of German and Irish descent, and his maternal grandparents were Ukrainian immigrants from the Chernobyl region. Holtz grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, where he was raised as a Catholic and attended East Liverpool High School before enrolling at Kent State University.

At Kent State, Holtz played linebacker for the Golden Flashes in 1956–57 and graduated in 1959 with a degree in history. He was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity and also trained with Kent State’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, earning a commission as a Field Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army Reserve upon graduation.

Holtz began his coaching career in 1960 as a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa, later earning a master’s degree before moving into assistant coaching roles at various institutions, including William & Mary, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Ohio State.

Holtz’s first head coaching position came in 1969 at William & Mary, where he led the team to a Southern Conference championship. He later became head coach at North Carolina State University (1972–75), where his teams were nationally ranked and won the Atlantic Coast Conference title in 1973.

In 1976, Holtz accepted a head coaching role with the New York Jets of the National Football League. His time in the pros was brief and challenging; Holtz resigned ten months later with a 3–10 record, later noting that coaching in the NFL was not his calling.

Holtz then returned to college football, taking the helm at the University of Arkansas (1977–83). There he compiled a 60–21–2 record and led the Razorbacks to six bowl games.

In 1984, he became head coach at the University of Minnesota, and two years later was named head coach of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. At Notre Dame (1986–96), Holtz achieved his greatest success, including an undefeated 12–0 season and a national championship in 1988. He remains the only coach in NCAA history to take six different programs to bowl games and guide four different teams into the final top-15 rankings.

After briefly retiring, Holtz returned to coaching at the University of South Carolina from 1999 until his final retirement in 2004, where he revived a struggling program and led the Gamecocks to consecutive bowl victories.

Following his coaching career, Holtz became a familiar face on television as a college football analyst for CBS Sports and later ESPN, where he worked until 2015.

Holtz married Beth Barcus on July 22, 1961. The couple was married for nearly six decades until her death from cancer on June 30, 2020. Together they had four children, three of whom are Notre Dame graduates. Among his children is Skip Holtz, a prominent college football coach in his own right.

On January 30, 2026, family members announced that Lou Holtz had entered end-of-life hospice care after a legendary career and lifelong impact on collegiate athletics. Holtz died March 4, 2026 at the age of 89.

Lou Holtz's Religious Beliefs

Holtz’s Catholic faith was a central and guiding force throughout his life and career. Raised in a devout Catholic household and educated in Catholic schools, Holtz often credited his early religious formation with shaping his moral outlook, leadership style, and commitment to family.

Holtz spoke frequently about the importance of faith in his personal philosophy and public life. He participated in Catholic initiatives such as “Catholics Come Home,” aimed at encouraging lapsed Catholics to reconnect with the Church and its sacraments. His interviews and speeches regularly intertwined life lessons with reflections on prayer, humility, and trust in God.

In his own words, Holtz often emphasized that his identity as a Catholic was not just a private creed but a lived commitment that influenced how he coached, led, and interacted with others.