Lou Holtz

About Lou Holtz

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 is 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. On May 1, 2008, Holtz was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame .

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.