Lou Holtz, whose lengthy football coaching career included an undefeated championship season at the University of Notre Dame and who spoke regularly about his Catholic faith, died on March 4 at age 89.
Holtz’s death was announced by his family through a statement via the athletics department at Notre Dame. The retired coach had entered hospice shortly before his death.
The coach “is remembered for his enduring values of faith, family, service, and
an unwavering belief in the potential of others,” his family said.
Holtz was preceded in death by his wife, Beth, who passed away in 2020. The two had been married for 59 years at the time of her death. Both are survived by four children.
A fixture in college sports for decades, Holtz began his head coaching career in 1969 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He subsequently served as coach at North Carolina State and the University of Arkansas as well as a stint at the University of Minnesota; he also coached the New York Jets briefly in 1976.
His most memorable coaching appointment came at the University of Notre Dame, which he joined in 1986. He would go on to lead the team to an undefeated national championship in 1989, beating the West Virginia Mountaineers 34-21 at that year’s Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.
After a brief retirement and a stint as a commentator for CBS Sports, Holtz took up the head coach position at the University of South Carolina in 1999, where he had previously served as an assistant coach in 1966.
He retired from that final role in 2004; his final game was marked by the infamous Clemson-South Carolina football brawl, with Holtz describing it as a “heck of a note” that his last match would be remembered for the fight.
In his later years he appeared in various commentary roles on a variety of ESPN programs. One of his four children is Skip Holtz, who has served as head coach at numerous collegiate football teams.
On Dec. 3, 2020, Holtz was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House at the time described Holtz as “one of the greatest football coaches of all time” as well as “a philanthropist, author, and true American patriot.”
Trump himself while awarding the medal described Holtz as a “great gentleman” and a “great man.” The president said he was amazed at learning about Holtz’s coaching record ahead of the ceremony.
“When we were researching this out, I knew he was supposed to be a good coach, but I didn’t know how good he was, because these stats are very amazing,” the president admitted.
Known in part for his conservative politics, Holtz at that ceremony described Trump as “the greatest president during my lifetime.”
“I get this award; I accept it humbly,” he said. “And you don’t go in life saying ‘I want to win this award.’ You just wake up one day and it happens.”
A lifelong Catholic, Holtz was educated by the Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Aloysius Grade School in East Liverpool, Ohio. In 2012 he told the National Catholic Register, the sister news partner of EWTN News, that the nuns “influenced my life tremendously.”
“This was due to the fact that they encouraged you always to make sure that God is the focus of your life, and they didn’t allow you to do anything except to the very best of your ability,” he said.
Holtz told the Register that he had prayed to God to be made a great athlete, only to have been made a coach instead.
“God does answer your prayers, but it’s not always in the way you expect,” he said. “God knows what’s best for us, though, so there’s no need to worry when things don’t go how we originally wanted them to go.”
He professed that the Catholic Church is “infallible” on religious principles regarding faith and morals. He said he “[tried] to follow the Catholic teachings [as that’s] what brings meaning and lasting happiness to life.” He said, however, that Church leaders should be “[held] accountable for their choices.”
In multiple cases he stressed fidelity to Christ above all, such as during an interview with Southwest Michigan Catholic when he said: “I don’t go to church to honor the pope; I don’t go to church to honor the priest who might have made some mistakes; I go to church to honor Jesus Christ.”
He told the publication he and his family attended Mass “every Sunday,” regardless if football was in season or not.
After Pope Leo XIV’s election in 2025, Holtz called on Catholics to “pray for [Leo], respect him and support him.”
“Pope Leo, I’ll be praying for you. God bless,” he said at the time.
In November 2025, meanwhile, he delivered what he said was his “final public speech,” speaking at the America First Policy Institute, where he served as chair of the 1776 initiative.
“[M]y commitment to the American dream has never wavered and never will,” he said at the time. “We must protect what makes America exceptional.”
“We cannot let God down; we must always do what’s right,” he said.
