THIS PAGE IS ALL ABOUT LOU HOLTZ AND HIS CAREER AT NOTRE DAME
Holtz brings a wealth of experience to the sidelines-including a 199-87-7 (.686) career record that ranks him sixth in
victories among active coaches (behind only Penn State's Joe Paterno, Florida State's Bobby Bowden, Nebraska's Tom
Osborne, BYU's LaVell Edwards and Iowa's Hayden Fry ) and ninth in winning percentage heading into the '95 season.
His 10 career postseason bowl victories rank him third among active coaches and tied for fourth on the all-time list. He has
built a reputation as a motivator, a demanding disciplinarian and someone who relishes challenges and hard work.
He came to Notre Dame following two seasons at Minnesota (1984-85), seven at Arkansas (1977-83), four at North
Carolina State (1972-75) and three at William & Mary (1969-71). He spent the 1976 season as head coach of the New
York Jets of the National Football League. Twenty of the 25 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.
Born Louis Leo Holtz on January 6, 1937, Holtz grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, just up the Ohio River from his
Follansbee, W. Va., 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.
Holtz authored the New York Times best-selling book "The Fighting Spirit" that chronicled Notre Dame's 1988
championship season.
A noted speaker and student of motivation, Holtz has championed countless charitable and educational causes. Among the
current beneficiaries of his help are the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and South Bend's Center for the Homeless.
Married to Beth Barcus of East Liverpool on July 22, 1961, Holtz and his wife are the parents of four children-Luanne Altenbaumer, Skip (he graduated from
Notre Dame in December of '86, spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at Florida State, one year as receivers coach at Colorado State, joined the Notre
Dame staff as receivers coach in 1990, became offensive coordinator in '91 and was named head coach at the University of Connecticut in December of '93),
Kevin (he graduated from Notre Dame in December of '88, finished law school at Notre Dame in the spring of '92 and currently works for the Dallas Cowboys)
and Elizabeth Messaglia (a '91 Notre Dame graduate).
LOU ON PRIORITIES
Priorities:
"Anybody can win if they make football their top priority. What makes this place unique is we're expected to win and football is the top priority just three hours a day. If a player has a bad practice at most schools, you assume he had a fight with his girlfriend. Here, it's more likely he didn't get to bed the last two nights because he was studying for an exam."
LOU ON RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility:
"I don't think there's pressure at Notre Dame. What I feel is an awesome responsibility because of what has gone on in the past. Because of what the Rocknes, the Leahys, the Parseghians have accomplished, you feel a responsibility to keep up that tradition. But I wouldn't call it pressure. My idea of pressure is a guy whose wife is eight months pregnant, has four kids at home, he's out of a job and can't make the payments. That's pressure."
LOU ON ALUMNI
The Alumni:
"When I go out to speak, the alumni want to know when we're going to win the national championship again. Sometimes fans here have a tendency to look at only the good things and the good athletes and no one is really worried about the problems. Fans don't think the Notre Dame football team has any problems. They think if we go out and put on the helmets and the uniforms that everything is going to change and any problems we have are going to dissipate. That isn't going to be true. But I understand alumni. They aren't interested in how rocky the sea is. They are interested in seeing the ship come in. Our fans expect a minor miracle every Saturday and a major one every now and then."