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Biography

Lou Holtz has established himself as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time.

Born Louis Leo Holtz on January 6, 1937, Holtz grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, just up the Ohio River from his Follansbee, West Virginia, and birthplace. He graduated from East Liverpool High School, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in History from Kent State in 1959 and a master’s degree from Iowa in Arts and Education in 1961. He played linebacker at Kent State for two seasons before an injury ended his career. He has received 14 honorary doctorate degrees.

In 2015, Holtz joined SiriusXM where he now shares his passions for college football and golf with listeners, discusses the latest news and events, and shares his own insight, knowledge and personal stories. Holtz takes calls from listeners on The Playbook with Jack Arute, hosts the SiriusXM College Football Tailgate Show with Jason Horowitz and Phil Savage, and hosts the new show, Holtz in One, alongside Fred Albers.

COACH
Holtz is the only coach in the history of college football to: 1) Take 6 different teams to a bowl game. 2) Win 5 bowl games with different teams. 3) To have 4 different college teams ranked in the final Top 20 poll. Despite never inheriting a winning team, he compiled a 243-127-7 career record that ranked him third in victories among active coaches and eighth in winning percentage. His 12 career postseason bowl victories ranked him fifth on the all-time list. Holtz was recently selected for the College Football Hall of Fame, class of 2008, which places him in an elite group of just over 800 individuals in the history of football who have earned this distinction. Approximate 1 in 5,000 people who played college football or coached it make it into the Hall of Fame. In April of 2012, Coach Holtz was inducted into the
Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame.

The Follansbee, West Virginia, native became the 27th head coach of Notre Dame following two seasons at Minnesota (1984 to 85), seven at Arkansas (1977 to 83), four at North Carolina State (1972 to 75) and three at William & Mary (1969 to 71). He spent the 1976 season as head coach of the New York Jets of the National Football League. Twenty-one of the 26 collegiate teams under his direction have earned post-season bowl invitations—and 14 have finished in the final AP top 20, eight in the top 10 (not including the 1995 finish in that category).

Holtz’s head-coaching career began in 1969 at William & Mary at age 32. His second team in 1970 won the Southern Conference title and advanced to play 15-ranked Toledo in the Tangerine Bowl in the only postseason appearance in the history of the school. Holtz’s stab at professional football—between his tenures at North Carolina State and Arkansas produced a 3-10 record. He resigned the week of the Jets’ final regular season game.

Before becoming head coach at William & Mary in 1969, Holtz served as an assistant coach at Iowa (freshmen, 1960), William & Mary (offensive backs, 1961 to 63), Connecticut (defensive backs, 1964 to 65), South Carolina (defensive backs, 1966 to 67) and Ohio State (defensive backs, 1968). The Buckeyes won the national championship in 1968 in his one season on the Ohio State staff. He worked under such respected coaches as Forest Evashevski at Iowa, Rick Foranzo at Connecticut, Paul Dietzel at South Carolina and Woody Hayes at Ohio State.

When Holtz took over as Notre Dame’s 27th head football coach back in November of 1985, he brought with him a wellproven reputation as a fixer of football programs following a series of spectacular repair jobs at William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas and Minnesota.

AUTHOR
Holtz has authored three New York Times best-selling books The Fighting Spirit that chronicled Notre Dame's 1988 championship season and Winning Everyday: A Game Plan For Success (August 1998), which has been published in several languages. His latest book which was released August 15, 2006 is Wins, Losses and Lessons, an autobiography of his life and the lessons he has learned, and is also a best seller.

Additionally, he has produced three highly acclaimed motivational videos: Do Right, Do Right II, and If Enough People Care. The Lou Holtz Hall of Fame opened in East Liverpool, Ohio in July 1998. And he recently released his latest video, Do Right 20 Years Later.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation, an award that is presented annually to an individual who has attained a measure of success and been a leader in his chosen profession, named Lou Holtz 1998’s “Man of the Year”. This is the second time Coach Holtz has been saluted by the organization named for the legendary Father of American Football. In 1977, while in Arkansas, he was named Coach of the Year.

Married to Beth Barcus of East Liverpool on July 22, 1961, Holtz and his wife are the parents of four children and currently reside in Orlando, Florida.