Inducted: 2008
DOB: 1/6/1937
Birthplace: Follansbee, WV
The first coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games, Coach Lou Holtz was a fixture in the college football coaching landscape for more than three decades. Best known for his tenure at Notre Dame, Holtz led the Fighting Irish to the 1988 National Championship and 100 wins. He won conference championships at William & Mary, North Carolina State and Arkansas and is the only coach to guide four different programs to final Top 20 rankings. The Follansbee, W.V., native produced the best four-year win-loss record in NC State history and led Arkansas to six straight bowl games and four Top Ten finishes. Holtz received Man of the Year laurels from the Walter Camp Foundation in 1997 and twice earned the American Football Coaches Association Academic Achievement Award, which annually honors the school with the highest graduation rate among members of its football team. Holtz also coached Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown and College Football Hall of Fame inductees Chris Zorich and Billy Ray Smith.
University of Notre Dame
(1969-2004)
Wins
249
Losses
132
Ties
7