The Notre Dame community is honoring the life of its former football coach, Lou Holtz. Holtz recently passed away at the age of 89. Holtz was eulogized by his son Skip, in South Bend on Monday.
“Yes, he was successful,” Skip Holtz said, per TMZ. “But most of all, he was incredibly significant, and he changed people’s lives for the better.”
Lou Holtz won a national championship at the school in the 1988 season. He is revered as one of Notre Dame football's all-time great coaches. Holtz also spent time as a head coach at South Carolina, and a few other schools. He was also briefly the head coach of the NFL's New York Jets in 1976.
Lou's son Skip has also been a college football head coach. Skip has been coach at East Carolina, Connecticut, South Florida and Louisiana Tech.
“He found a way to believe in you more than you believed in yourself,” Skip Holtz said. “He built his life on trust, commitment and love.”
Lou Holtz was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Lou Holtz is being remembered as a Notre Dame legend
Holtz coached at Notre Dame from 1986-1996. In his tenure with the Fighting Irish, Holtz had five seasons with at least 10 wins. During the 1988 campaign, Notre Dame went undefeated and defeated West Virginia for the national championship.
Holtz's final job as a head coach was with South Carolina football. He coached the Gamecocks from 1999-2004. After a tough first season where he didn't post a win, Holtz went on to lead South Carolina to an eight win season the very next year.
Following his days as a coach, Holtz went on to have a successful career in television broadcasting. He worked on ESPN discussing college football with Mark May. May was one of the people in attendance at Monday's mass for Holtz at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame fans will be forever grateful for Lou Holtz. His national championship was Notre Dame's last in football.
