Lou Holtz, the college football coach who turned Notre Dame back into a national power and later became a prominent TV analyst and political supporter of Donald Trump, has died. He was 89 and died in Orlando, a statement released by Notre Dame on Wednesday said. The Fighting Irish went 12-0 in 1988, winning the national title, then won the first 11 games the next season, the Washington Post reports, finishing that season ranked second. Holtz was a celebrity by that point, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and gaining a reputation as, Sports Illustrated journalist Austin Murphy wrote, "possibly the most charismatic coach of his generation."
Over a 33-year college head coaching career, Holtz ran six programs—at William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, and South Carolina—and became the only coach to take six schools to bowl games. He revived Notre Dame's program after being hired in 1986 and finished his tenure there in 1996 with 100 victories, third in school history. He remained a champion of Notre Dame's traditions. "For those who know Notre Dame, no explanation is necessary," Holtz would say later, per the South Bend Tribune. "For those who don't, no explanation will suffice."
Holtz was known as a strict disciplinarian and motivational coach who relied on early-morning drills and rigid rules, but he also cultivated an image built on self-deprecating humor and storytelling. There were issues: Holtz agreed to suspend three Arkansas players before the 1978 Orange Bowl over allegations of sexual assault if their accuser agreed not to press charges; Minnesota's program was later hit with NCAA sanctions for violations during his tenure; and South Carolina went on NCAA probation for "lack of institutional control" after he retired. A 1993 book accused him of tolerating poor academics and steroid use at Notre Dame, allegations he denied. Later, Holtz drew criticism for his politics.
His endorsement of Republican Sen. Jesse Helms preceded his pressured exit from Arkansas, and his campaigning for Trump in 2016 and 2020—including calling Joe Biden a Catholic "in name only" during the Republican National Convention—prompted rebukes from Notre Dame's president and some former players. Despite calls to remove his statue on campus, it remained, and Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2020. Holtz, who had a master's degree in education, wrote several books and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. "Coach was great because he taught life lessons, not necessarily football lessons," Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis said in 2022. "He used football as the backdrop, but those messages were life lessons that he was teaching."
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