Meet the Speaker: Lou Holtz

One of the most affable college head coaches of his generation, Lou Holtz won 249 games as with 100 of those victories earned at Notre Dame from 1986 through 1996. He led the Irish to the 1988 National Championship with a 12-0 record and victory over West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. The ‘88 title season began a 64-9-1 (.871) run for Holtz at Notre Dame that included a 23-game win streak, back-to-back 12-win seasons for the first time in school history and a program-record nine-consecutive bowl game appearances. 

Holtz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and instituted several traditions at Notre Dame that carry on to this very day. The famous “Play Like A Champion” sign in the football locker room, which Fighting Irish players strike on the way out to the field, was first hung up during the Holtz era. Holtz also removed names from the back of the football jerseys to emphasize the team dynamic, a tradition that is still followed today during all regular-season games. 

Among the legendary players coached by Holtz at Notre Dame are 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown and College Football Hall of Famers Raghib ‘Rocket’ Ismail, Michael Stonebreaker, Aaron Taylor and Chris Zorich.