like he was the most important person in the universe.

My uncle an ND grad in the '50's was close to Skip Holtz when he was a student at Holy Cross Junior College prior to his transferring to ND. Skip used to live at my uncle's house while at HC Junior College prior to going to ND. My uncle has always been close to ND's higher ups, and was highly involved in the discussions between Lou and ND his last year at Minnesota. I still remember at my uncles funeral at the Basilica, Skip Holtz showed up to give his respect at my uncle's funeral.

I remember my dad telling me that he went back for a game at ND from Boston and he went to a ND reception after the game. My uncle introduced my dad to Lou. Lou spent the next 20 minutes treating my dad as if he was the most important man in the universe. My dad said he felt uncomfortable in that Lou spend so much time monopolizing his time. Then my dad was introduced to ND's AD - and the AD spent all of his time looking over my dad's shoulder to see if there was someone more important that he could be talking with.

Lou was genuine. He is the person that we wish we could all be.

God Bless you coach!

His personalized parking space and Buick LaSabre in front of the Joyce. I think I make have a pic of it somewhere.

in Miami Beach in 1996 prior to the Orange Bowl.
In 1999 while at South Carolina he was recruiting Matthew Thomas. We picked him up at our municipal airport and went to Matt’s house. He was such a delight. I took Matthew to a couple of his visits to Carolina. Of course Coach Holtz knew I was a fan. I did my part on the recruitment of Matt. He signed and played 4 years starting all 4 years for him. I was always on the sideline at Carolina games. He’s the most notable person I’ve ever met and I’ve met a few honestly.

I saw this game in person. I also saw the Penn State game later that year with my dad. We had great seats on the 40 for PSU because ticket interest was low after the Faust years. The days of easily getting good seats are long gone (good in a way).

a participant (the parent of a junior) and the new football coach.

I was out behind Cavanaugh Hall in 1993 shooting hoops in the middle of a weekday, which was pretty unusual for me. In the distance I saw Lou approaching on his way to the admin building. I just waved at him and as he passed by he said “off the building, off the pavement, off the backboard, nothing but net!” (Referring to a popular Jordan vs. Bird MacDonalds commercial at the time.). It wasn’t much, but I wouldn’t have traded it for having Jordan or Bird do the same thing. He was that much of a legend among the student body. I look back on my time at ND and I’m so grateful that he was our coach for all four of my years. Those years wouldn’t have been nearly as special without him.

I accompanied my grandmother to an annual retiree luncheon in the JACC. She was one of the old Polish cleaning ladies and had to be the first to arrive. While she was in the restroom, I was at our table in an empty concourse and I see this little guy rushing toward me. It was unmistakably Lou. I thought maybe he was in a hurry, but I'm pretty sure he always had a lot of energy and just always zipped around. He walked right by me. I said "How you doing, coach?". He shook my hand, patted me on the back, asked how I was and quickly went on his way. There were tables and chairs set up all over. I was at table toward the middle near the front. There was no logic behind the path he took to get to where he was going other than to interact with me. He could have easily avoided me. It made my day.

Not sure if I’ve shared this before, but it seemed like as good a place as any.

The ND - Navy game in Dublin in 1996 was a big deal for us, as my ND/St. Mary’s parents had moved to London before I was born so we didn’t get to games in South Bend much. In fact, the ND - Navy game in 1989 (when I was 6 years old) was the only one I’d been to at The Stadium.

My parents left me and my brother (JHND on this site) at the hotel in Dublin 2 nights before the game - we were 13 by that time - to go to a private meet-and-greet with the team, and as they would claim after returning, somehow found themselves talking to Lou.

He told them what a special place the University was (as he always does to ND folks, because he believes it), how much he’d valued his time there, and how much he was enjoying this trip. He also told them he knew his time was coming to an end - that the good fathers seemed ready to move on - but he held no ill will about it.

At least to 13 year old, non-connected ND fans like me and my brother, this was surprising news. We’d worshipped Lou since we were little kids, and I think our parents could see how much they’d brought us down. To cheer us up / change the subject they told us Lou was excited to hear they had identical twin boys, and that he’d LOVE to meet us when the team visited the Book of Kells at Trinity College Library the next day. They did warn us he was obviously a busy man, but we’d go to the Library and try to see him there.

The next morning we chilled outside the front door of the Library at the time Lou allegedly mentioned, not expecting much but excited to see some of our heroes up close (Autry Denson, Marc Edwards, Melvin Dansby, Bert Berry, Kory Minor, Allen Rossum, etc.). Obviously we perked up when Lou hopped off the bus, but were still a little suspect of our parents’ story as they shouted across the crowd, trying to attract his attention. He glanced in their direction, and immediately with a bellow:

“Where are those twins?? Where are those twins?? Let me meet them!”

He pushed his way to us as people crowded around and made at least 2 minutes of conversation with us, asking us what we wanted to study in college and such, and waited patiently as my parents tried to take a few decent pictures of us with their early-90s camera.

Obviously, we still have a framed picture of Lou, my brother and me, as well as the letter he wrote to us (on official ND Head Coach letterhead) mere weeks before his “resignation”, thanking US for spending time with HIM in Ireland, and hoping we’d study hard enough to be accepted at ND, so we could make our dreams come true there, as he was able to.

As I said up top, I still shake my head about it, 30 years later. I don’t know if I’d still be the ND football fan I am today, now with a wife, 2 kids and all the weight that time brings, if it weren’t for that moment.

He’s a special man.

that you could buy; I think they were sold at the bookstore as some kind of fundraiser for local charities or something like that?

Anyway, after a trip to ND, my Dad brought back a bunch of them for our whole family down in Houston. Whenever ND was in the Cotton Bowl, we would drive up to Dallas for New Year's (My Dad never missed a Cotton Bowl featuring ND in his entire life). For the Jan. '93 Cotton Bowl versus A&M, we took pictures of our whole family in our old Suburban heading up to the game, all of us wearing the Lou masks. After the game (which ND won handily thanks to the awesome Bettis-Brooks backfield), my Mom wrote a letter to Coach Holtz congratulating him on the victory, and thanking him for giving us Texas ND fans bragging rights among our Aggie family and friends (not to mention getting revenge for the horrible beat-down we had suffered to them in Jan. '88). Mom included a photo of us all in the Lou masks.

Lou sent back a lovely, personal letter thanking us for our support of the team and for keeping the ND spirit alive down in Texas.

The next year, ND was selected for the Cotton Bowl vs. A&M again, and this time, Lou sent my Mom a letter first! It said something like: "I certainly hope you're all coming up wearing the masks again - it worked great for us last year!" Of course she responded with another picture of all of us on the way to Dallas in Jan. '94, masks and all, after we beat the Aggies yet again. I think that they ended up corresponding a few other times after that as well. Mom always appreciated how he embraced the Catholic spirit of ND and talked openly about his love for Our Lady.

Many years later I had the chance to meet Lou in person, very briefly, and I mentioned those old photos - he immediately remembered them, and asked how my Mom was doing. I had to tell him that she had passed away a few years back, and he offered his condolences sincerely, and said he'd pray for her and our family. I had to move along the greeting line then, so just shook his hand and mumbled a teary 'Thank you,' deeply moved.

I've looked around for those letters over the past few years, but haven't found them. They may turn up at some point, but either way, I'm grateful for those interactions and for Lou's small but sincere connection to my Mom's memory.

As conveyed to me per Father Hesburgh, in 2005 Lou was in his office for a visit and at one point asked "...Father what can I do to help.." Father responded by giving Lou information on a non-profit that I had started, along with several students/alums, that provided care for children in Lesotho (southern Africa) that were orphaned/infected by HIV/AIDS. Father Ted had graciously recalled when he supported me as a student with his personal check of $250 in 1976 to do summer volunteer work in Ghana. That relationship eventually led to him becoming the Honorary Chair of our non-profit - Touching Tiny Lives. Per Father, he told Lou "... every time you come on campus write these folks a check." For the next three years we received, unsolicited, a check from Lou for $5,000. The fourth year I was in line at the Bookstore for a Lou book signing event and when I got in front of Lou I introduced myself as the Chair of TTL and verbally thanked him for his gracious gifts. His response was to look at me with a big smile, point his pen, and say "I need to get you another check." Within a week another $5,000 check arrived. Lou.... not only a legendary coach but a gracious soul who loved Notre Dame and so many others less blessed.

He was just by himself waiting to board the plane. I didn't want to be the guy that bothers him excessively, insists on a photo, autograph, etc. So I just quietly went over, told him I was an ND grad, and said "Coach, I just wanted to thank you for all the wonderful times and memories I have because of you" and let him be. He was smiling his usual smile and was very gracious.

Sat down in Orlando airport 20 yrs ago, and looked up right into Coach's eyes. I said hi, but added that I had always heard that the reason his hands were in his pockets on the sidelines was that he had a finger rosary that he was praying. He said yes, reached into his pocket and gave it to me. I held that finger rosary until last year when a met an older Irish fan with autism that was in need of help and prayers. His eyes lit up when I gave it to him and told him where it came from. Thanks Coach!!

Parents Weekend. It must have been in 2011. By the time he finished, every mom and dad there was ready to suit up and hit the blocking sleds.

and was scheduled to give a lecture to the business school. No advertisements of this. But word got out, and so I decided to head over to the COBA auditorium. Apparently, everyone else had heard the same thing, and all showed up. When I got there, SRO was packed, and there were people "hanging from the rafters".

Lou walks out with a blue blazer, tie, and a SC hat on. The first thing he does it remove the SC cap, pull a block ND one from his jacket, and put it on (keep in mind he is still a public representative of SC). The room went nuts. He then said that SC is a good place with special people, but he's going to be buried here, and this is the most special place in the world. Everyone went through the roof.

Then he delivered what I assume to him was a standard motivational speech. I was fired up, and understood what it meant that players wanted to run through a brick wall for him.

Had to fight my way in to get a glimpse of him.

Of Professor Walton’s creative writing class to head over to hear him speak. About 8 people total in the course. Professor Walton encouraged the decision as I walked out in the middle of class.

Of all days, it was my turn to present my short story in class. In the spirit of "better to ask forgiveness than permission", I blew it off to go see Lou. Cost me a full letter grade drop, as I recall.

My three roommates and I snuck out the back door of the COBA Lecture Hall right after Lou's talk, correctly anticipating him to use the same exit. We intercepted him and got a group photo. Lou later signed four copies of that photo for each of us: "Always believe in yourself & your future - Lou Holtz". Hangs in my office to this day.

It's a true story that turned out greater than any fiction I would've shared in class.

I was placed in a seminar class he gave freshman year. Was a pretty boring class to be honest, but he was a lovely man and a big sports fan. I remember going to office hours and talking about boxing with him.

At the 2010 Reunion, my wife, Jan, and I were told by my brother (ND 1990) Coach Holtz would be the speaker at their dinner. We elected to skip mine and attend his dinner for a chance to see Lou yet again. Arriving, there was a long line up the stairs to the ACC concourse for photos with him. We waited, along with many others. About 12 or so spots from our slot, someone came by to inform Lou he had to get ready to speak. He apologized and the crew began taking down the photo set. Passing by him on the way to our table, I shared my appreciation for his love of Notre Dame and introduced my wife as a two time and recent breast cancer survivor. "Set that camera back up!" He hugged Jan like he knew her. It is a treasured photo.

May God welcome him home.

Great day!

• Click here for link at https://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0140/VOL_0140_ISSUE_0

...Great article and pic; and I guess this is my Paul Harvey moment in understanding the source of your NDN handle. "And now you know....the rest of the story."

Lou was a great coach and had/has great character, a combination we have been fortunate to have had several times over the years.

Thanks for posting that.

I haven't thought about the Versatility upset over Primetime in a very very very long time.

Lots of what ifs along with the #1 seed and target on their back in 99.

All have gone on to great things as well.

Most of us went expecting they would put the glass slippers away. It was a hell of a game. Fairly sure I drank before and after.

IIRC, one of their best players transferred after 98 to play at a Division 2 school, so they were not able to run it back completely.

They were a few years ahead of me, but they won my freshman year. It was such a big deal for Stanford to have this all "non-athlete" team win the tournament. But every one of those guys could really play.

Obviously, when you reach the Final Four of that tournament, you will see 20 truly great basketball players. Definitely one of the things that surprised me the most at ND. Many of the non-scholarship students are still excellent athletes.

On the dorm team, that always helped them a ton because they all played in HS and they developed their team chemistry better than most. They were fun to watch and were all good dudes.

Although my favorite bookstore memory, not the PRIMETIME guys, was some buddies playing against Fr. Malloy's team. Some things may have been shouted from the fanbase during the game, along such themes as God not being able to help Monk in this endeavor, etc. I was fairly certain we were all going to be identified and removed from school within the week.

…. give or take a year.

Our head of sales was Jim something-or-other, and he’s a USC grad. It was his group’s event. Not sure why he invited Lou, other than being sure Lou would knock it out of the park.

Anyway, as master of ceremonies, Jim did a nice job introducing Lou from the dais. As it was Lou’s turn to move to the dais to speak, Jim had the speaker system play “Fight On”.

No hesitation whatsoever, Lou put his hand on Jim’s shoulder and said, “Jim, you have no idea how confident that song makes me feel!”

I was fortunate to spend five or ten minutes speaking with Lou later in the event. Echoing all the other commentary in this thread, he was like a friend for life in that conversation.

… he said when he asked what the job paid they said it couldn’t be higher than the salary of the president of the university. And his first thought was the president of Notre Dame was a priest who had taken a vow of poverty!

Lou took a pay cut from his Minnesota salary to take the Notre Dame job.

This was told to me directly and on the record by Gene Corrigan, who extended the Notre Dame offer to Lou.

Of course, Lou did pretty well at Notre Dame in terms of outside income.

Here is a speech by Coach Holtz as posted here by OnlyND on on 7/7/05. It was made on the eve of the longest winning streak in Notre Dame's history against arguably the most difficult schedules we ever faced.

"Three weeks ago when I set up this meeting, I knew we would have a lot to talk about, and I have really looked forward to this meeting. First of all, I want to congratulate you on your success in the winter program in the eight room. The things I hear about you are outstanding, and when I have been there I have been impressed. Unfortunately, not everyone falls into this category. However, the overwhelming majority of you do, and for that I congratulate you on your commitment to greatness.

Two days ago I talked to Marion Campbell of the Atlanta Falcons. Coach Fazio went down and visited with them yesterday. Today he called me and said he is going to accept a job with the Atlanta Falcons. He will get a substantial raise. I hate to see him go. He is an outstanding coach and a fine, fine individual. Joe Yonto will leave to take a position in the Athletic Department. He will be working with Dick Rosenthal. He had a choice whether he wished to go into administration or remain in coaching. He decided to accept the position in administration. The defensive coordinator, in all probability, will be Barry Alvarez. He has coached inside linebackers previously, and I think will be a fine coordinator. I promise you I/we will strengthen our staff. A year ago at this time Mike Stock left to go to the Bengals, and Kurt Schottenheimer went with the Cleveland Browns. We strengthened our staff when we brought in what I think is an outstanding football coach in Jim Strong. That sucker is a winner - make no mistake about it. Then we went out and hired Barry Alvarez, who is also an outstanding coach. Rest assured, we will hire the best coaches in America, and we'll hire them rapidly.

It's going to be revealed today that Notre Dame had the best recruiting year in the country by far. I say that is nonsense. We have some fine athletes coming in despite the fact that we had only 23 scholarships to offer. Everybody else signs 30, redshirts their entire freshman class, and then drop 55 out of their football program. At Notre Dame we can sign approximately 24 a year. On paper we had a good year. However, I want to tell you this - we were not successful in the state of Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. The best football player in the state of Ohio belonged here at Notre Dame. I've never seen a guy who belonged at Notre Dame more than he did. He writes me a letter: "Dear Coach, this is a very difficult letter to write. How does one say 'no' to Notre Dame? Notre Dame is a great university - high academics, high standards, outstanding football program. Everything is right. At least I thought so until I visited. I did not feel comfortable around the athletes. I'm not sure the total commitment to excellence is there." He goes on to say some other things which aren't relevant. If we lose to Penn State in recruiting, you lose. The entire university loses. There isn't any reason for this university to ever lose a prospect to Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Pittsburgh or any other school. When we get them on this campus, there's no way in this world they should do anything but be impressed with the athletes we have here.

There are gonna be some changes, but I can assure you they are going to be positive changes. I want you to pay attention to this - we are going to practice strict loyalty to one another. We are going to be loyal to the University of Notre Dame, the administration, coaches and teammates. We are not going to make a negative comment about anybody on this football team, unless it is said in my office. We are not going to criticize another player. If l hear a guy make a negative comment during a football game on the sideline, you're going to the locker room. We can not be a close knit football team without showing respect and concern for each other. This loyalty will extend to the coaches as well. You aren't going to bitch about them; you aren't going to moan about them; you aren't going to talk about them among yourselves.

By the same token, the coaches aren't going to say a negative thing about you. The coaches aren't going to deride you, ridicule you, or question your courage. The coaches will show you how to be the best football players possible. They will tell you what you are doing wrong and in what areas you need to improve. If you have a problem with someone, get it straight. Remember, if you can't say something good about somebody, then don't say anything. This is a good philosophy to practice the rest of your life. I don't know if any of you saw a TV program on an educational TV station, but the topic was, "Why do men die for their country?" They examined the Marines, French Foreign Legion and the British Commandos. First conclusion they arrived at was that discipline is very important. Why do the military conduct their close order drill, although it carries no military significance whatsoever? Because it stresses discipline. No organization or team can function without discipline. The second reason they examined was the history of the regiment. They talked about the great tradition of the regiment. They highlighted the success of the regiment, particularly those that were accomplished against overwhelming odds. However, the most important reason why men died for their country was their love for their fellow man. They interviewed a soldier who relayed a most revealing story. He was wounded in combat and was convalescing in the hospital when he discovered that his fellow soldiers were going on a dangerous mission. He escaped from the hospital and went on the mission with them. Then while participating in the invasion, he was wounded once again. When they interviewed him he said "You work with people and you live with them, and you soon realize that your survival depends upon one another." Whether it be a military battle or Notre Dame football, you can only enjoy success when we realize that we must be able to count on one another.

It is important that I express my thoughts about this university - which you may or may not agree with. This school was founded by Father Sorin in 1842. It was founded as a tribute to Our Lady on the Dome. I believe the overwhelming majority of our football team believes in Jesus Christ. We may have some whose religious beliefs are such that they do not recognize Jesus Christ. That's fine also. I don't wish to change anybody's religion or philosophy. This school was built as a tribute to the Blessed Virgin, the mother of Jesus Christ. I firmly believe that if you really look at this school, you realize it has been blessed.The people who attend this school are blessed. Father Sorin said it best in 1842, "I've raised Our Lady aloft so that men will know without asking, why we have succeeded here. All they have to do is look high on the Golden Dome and they'll find the answer." When we do what is right, we bring glory and honor to Notre Dame. When we win in football, we help this university. To reach your potential, you must learn to love this university. Put your faith, confidence and belief in Jesus. That is what this university is all about. It's your decision, but I firmly believe that Our Lady on the Dome will watch out for you. Spend some time at the Grotto, and you'll discover that this school is special. There is a special mystique about it. You are special for being here, a student at Notre Dame.

There will be no drinking during the season. We had this rule last year. There may have been violations, but rest assured that if hey occur this year, we will find out. Our coaches will frequent the favorite hangouts. If you can't control yourself or exercise self-discipline, you aren't going to be successful anyway. You told me you want to win, and I believe you. The seniors have provided great leadership thus far. I watched you work out and saw a lot of positive things. To get the maximum benefit from our winter program, we must eat breakfast. To ensure this happens, we will eat breakfast between 7:00 am and 9:15 am. Everybody will eat breakfast. It will be checked. You may eat in South Dining Hall or the North Dining Hall. Concerning the length of our practices - I checked with Ara Parseghian and many other coaches who have enjoyed success. One thing they all had in common was that they practiced 2 1/2 hours and met 1 1/2 hours a day. This was a typical day for Notre Dame when Ara Parseghian coached; at 3:30 pm they were on the field. They practiced until 6:00 pm. They arrived at the training table at 6:30 pm. At 7:30 pm they had a 1 1/2 hour meeting every day. This meant they spent approximately four hours on football daily. Most schools, including Arkansas, Michigan and most of our opponents meet during lunch. After lunch they would go to class. At 2:30 pm we would meet for an hour. We would practice from 3:30 to 6:00 pm. At 6:30 we would eat and meet once again from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. At 8:30 pm we would have study hall until 10:30 pm. In fairness to you, we do not meet at night so you can fulfill your primary purpose for attending college and that is to get an education. However, the amount of practice time we need is 2 1/2 hours, including kicking game. We must meet an additional one hour a day. Some people have complained we practice too long. There is no other way to be successful. Your social life must be non-existent during the season. In addition, our practices must be more productive and our retention greater. We cannot waste any time on the field, and we must insist upon improvement. I don't believe we made the improvement as a football team last year that we have to make.

We need to improve the courtesy we extend to people. I think it is beneficial to look people in the eye and give them a firm handshake. Use the words "Yes, sir - no, sir - yes, ma' am, no ma' am." I don't know if anything is more important to our success than self-discipline. We have scientists that can go into space and scientists that can go to the depth of the ocean. It's ironic that we can conquer space, we can conquer the ocean, but many times we cannot conquer ourselves. Until we learn self-discipline we cannot control our own destiny. Self discipline is the greatest asset an individual can possess. I think perseverance will be an important part of our success this year. We must overcome all adversity. The only reason for a person to exist is to be the best they can be. If you don't have any desire to be the best that you can be in every single phase of your life, you need to check your values. This attitude will develop perseverance. You shouldn't do the things that simply 'give you physical pleasure. When you do things for the sole enjoyment of self-satisfaction, you'll forget about it in two days and want to do it all over again.

There are millions of people that live and die with Notre Dame football. There are an awful lot of Catholics and non-Catholics, Irishmen and non-Irishmen, successful and less-fortunate people that follow the University of Notre Dame - and you should feel a sense of obligation to them. They follow Notre Dame football because it is synonymous with success. I really look forward to this season and working with you. We are going to be positive, and we are going to have fun in what we do.

I want you to pay very close attention to what I am going to say, because I don't want any misunderstandings about how I feel. I'm here to win football games for the University of Notre Dame. Not some of our games, and not most of our games; I'm here to win ALL of our games. Every doggone one of them! We aren't here to come close. We are here to win every single football game we ever play at the University of Notre Dame from this point forward. I want you to be the best, the very best, in all areas of your life. I want you to be the best student that you can be; I want you to be the best person you can be; and I want you to be the best football player you can be. The only reason a person should exist is to be the best he can. To play at Notre Dame is to seek perfection. I'm basically a perfectionist. I've heard all the reasons why you can't reach perfection. I want to tell you something. We are either going to reach it, or we're going to come so close that the average person won't know the diffrrence. To strive for perfection means you've got to be totally dedicated. It can't be an occasional thing - it's got to be a total dedication in everything that you do. If you don't have total dedication to perfection in your life, then I believe your attitude toward life is flawed. Perfection at Notre Dame will not only be demanded, it will be expected. I don't ever expect to lose another football game as long as I'm at Notre Dame, and I sure don't expect to lose one this year. I expect to see a perfect football team, because that's going to be the criteria to evaluate it. A loss is absolutely disastrous. You cannot give me one reason in this world why we should ever lose a football game at Notre Dame - not a one! There is no reason. Now you can tell me the schedule. There is no reason we should ever lose another football game at Notre Dame, and we aren't going to. Less than perfection is a personal embarrassment to me, to you and to this university. For us to ever represent the University of Notre Dame with less than perfection is totally inconsistent with our goals, our objectives and our beliefs.

Congratulations once again on the fine start you have made in the winter program. This is our first step toward perfection."

Painted and laid down across line of scrimmage during position drills so they could visualize where the lineman/gaps would be.

"Charlie, that introduction means a lot to me, especially coming from the outstanding college football coach of year, 2005. He talked about some of the confidence that I shared with him, but I want you to understand this, Charlie: I was not smart enough to get into Notre Dame. They rejected my application. And I never could understand why they thought I was smart enough to coach here, if I wasn’t good enough to go to school here. I’m probably the only person in the world who’s written more books than he’s read.

I want to congratulate the administration, I want to congratulate the coaches, the players, the fans, the band, the cheerleaders. Certainly I want to thank Father Riehle for all you did for me when I was here. Congratulations to everyone here; it was just an incredible year. You captivated the country not just by your accomplishments but by the way you played and the way you did things. It’s more than what’s in the stat book; you’re as good as any in the country. Somebody here might win the Biletnikoff award, but I don’t want to start singling out people, because where would you stop? Let me just say this: it was a pleasure to watch you play. The love and the feeling you had for one another was very inspirational. I saw every single game you played from the studio, and I just can’t begin to tell you how impressed I was, and how proud I was.

See, it’s really important that Notre Dame be on top in college football. I say this fairly and I say it honestly. This is why it’s such a great football season: because of the interest you all generated. You’re probably the lead story of this entire season.

And it’s not just the atmosphere you generated: you set an example for other schools to emulate. You can be well-educated, you can be unselfish, and you CAN win.

I think a football team has a personality just like any individual does, and the unselfishness with which this team played was impressive. The attitude of so many players and so many teams today is one of selfishness, their attitude is “hey, here I am.” The minute they do something they turn to the camera and say, “look at me”. What was really great in watching this football team was that anytime you accomplished something, the attitude was “there you are.” Whether it be bumping chests with one another, congratulating one another, celebrating with one another – that’s the way college football should be.

I know that everybody you played gave you their best effort – you’ve figured that out by now. You’re Notre Dame. You’re going to get the very best effort that anybody can give you. I used to hear other players say, “boy what an honor it is to play against Notre Dame. I came to this school so I could play against Notre Dame.” I can’t think of much that would motivate an individual more than playing against Notre Dame, other than one thing: it’s much, much better to be able to play FOR Notre Dame than it is to play against them.

Notre Dame is very special. When I came here it was under Father Hesburgh and Father Joyce, under Gene Corrigan and Dick Rosenthal, and now it’s Father Jenkins. But Notre Dame stays the same. It’s a very special place. Father Hesburgh said to me one time, “You don’t come to Notre Dame to learn to do something. You come to Notre Dame to learn to be somebody.”

People ask me why Notre Dame is so special, Mark May asked me – now Mark May is a beautiful individual and I love him dearly, and if he didn’t get a good education at Pittsburgh it’s not his fault. Mark asked me, and I said, Mark, if you’ve been to Notre Dame you don’t need an explanation. And if you’re not part of the Notre Dame family, no explanation will do. There’s no way you can possibly explain it.

I think of the tradition that you have built upon. And at Notre Dame, tradition is always under construction. You can talk about all the All-Americans over the years, but I can tell you no team represented Our Lady’s University better than you did this past year.

There’s four things you need in your life. Number one, you need something to do. Number two, you need someone to love. (My lovely wife is here. We’ve been married eighty-eight years. Forty-four apiece.) Number three, you certainly need something to hope for. And four, you need something to believe in. Something to do, someone to love, something to hope for, and something to believe in.

And you’ve had tremendous success. But I see a lot of people that reach success and then say, that’s pretty good, let’s keep it here, let’s maintain it. That’s not what greatness is all about, and that’s not what life is all about. You have to keep dreaming.

Let me just tell you a couple stories. With our football team here in 1989, we were going up to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. They had a good football team coached by Bo Schembechler, and we were getting ready for them. But during the week, and Charlie and I’m sure you’re familiar with this, after a few days you’re tired, you’re worn out, you’re sore, and you don’t care about Michigan anymore. So I gathered everyone one day and said, “Men, I called Bo Schembechler” – now, I didn’t call Bo, but I said I called Bo. I asked Bo, Bo, are your guys tired? And he said, yes, and I said, we’re tired too, Bo. I’ll tell you what, Bo: you give your Michigan players a day off and I’ll give Notre Dame a day off. And the team starts high-fiving with each other and cheering until I said, “Bo said no.” If they’re practicing two hours, we’re gonna practice two hours, and if we want to beat them, we better practice two-and-a-half. Of course it took three hours before we had two-and-a-half good hours.

I gathered everyone the next day and said, “Men, I called Bo again.” And they looked at me suspiciously: “What’d Bo say?” I said I made him a deal that we’d practice in shorts today if Michigan would too. And I said, men, you’re not going to believe this, but Bo said no. Bo said he wasn’t going to practice in shorts, in fact, he was going to scrimmage. Now I don’t want to scrimmage either, but if we want to beat Michigan, we have to scrimmage. Don’t get mad at me. Just remember this when you see Bo on that sideline on Saturday.

I did that four straight days, true story. Every day I came in and said, “I called Bo today.” On that fifth day one of our players cut me off: “Hey coach, I called Bo today.” And I said, “Oh, what’d Bo say?” “Bo said his players eat steak and lobster.”

The great teams are the ones that truly care about each other. Just a true feeling and a genuine caring. I had one of the great experiences in my life here in Notre Dame stadium and it wasn’t a football game. 1987, August. I worked the Special Olympics. I was a ‘hugger’. I had lane number 3, and it didn’t matter if my runner finished first, last, or in between, my only job was to run up and hug ‘em. All anybody wants is to be loved. People have every reason to be bitter, and every reason to be down – I see people with ability and talent and all kinds of opportunities complaining about some little thing that’s irrelevant in the whole picture of life.

People say, well what do great teams have? In 1988 we were fortunate enough to be successful. We went to the White House to meet with the president on January 19th, Father Riehle, you were there, and I was asked to stay over to meet some more with the president the next day. I got a phone call at one o’clock in the morning saying one of our players, Bobby Satterfield, had died. I flew home immediately and we had a team meeting at eight o’clock in the morning. When I told them Bobby Satterfield had died, you couldn’t tell if Bobby Satterfield was white or black, you couldn’t tell if he was Catholic or Protestant, freshman or senior, first team or third team. But the one thing you could tell is that the players mourned the loss of Bobby Satterfield. Bobby happened to be a defensive back, a senior, a walk-on, a third teamer.

It’s just a love and a feeling that you have about Notre Dame. Gentlemen, when you come back years from now, you’ll have that same feeling too. The friends that you have in this world are those you eat with, you sleep with, played with, laughed with, and cried with. Above all, a team is a family.

I congratulate you once again, and I leave you with this last question: if you didn’t show up, who would miss you, and why? I ask myself if I didn’t show up at home would my wife miss me, and would my children miss me. We’re blessed to have four children, three of them graduated from Notre Dame. And my wife and I have our cemetary plots – we will be buried here at Notre Dame. The alumni buried me every weekend, so I thought I’d make it permanent. The plot has a nice view of the dome, but it is a better view when you’re sitting up than when you’re lying down.

But if you didn’t show up, who would miss you, and why? If you don’t show up to a game, would your teammates miss you? If Notre Dame ceased to exist – why would you miss Notre Dame? Because there’s no place like it. It cannot be duplicated. It’s special. It’s unique.

After dinner tonight I will fly back to Hartford and I will be on the air tomorrow. And I will be on the air on Sunday congratulating you on a bowl selection and sharing in your enjoyment. When I went to work up there, they said, “we don’t want you to be partial.” There is no way I cannot be partial about Notre Dame or this football team.

If I have any advice for your opponent in the bowl game, it would be this: bring your lunch, because it’s gonna be a full day’s work. Thank you."

From his book. I never forgot them:

1. Can I trust them?
2. Do they care about me?
3. Are they committed to excellence?

Then turn the questions around and ask if you would pass the same tests?

knowledge today" daily goal.

to the Middle East to conduct air operations in Afghanistan.

I started an assignment at Shaw Air Force Base, HQ for all things Middle East (the Air Force version of U.S. Central Command), on August 11, 2001. It was a sleepy assignment, during which lots of golf was played...until the twin towers were taken down one month later. Our team immediately shifted to 24/7 operations and set about planning the air campaign for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Just 17 days later, it was time to travel across the pond.

This was obviously a huge deal for everybody involved. In fact, it was such a big deal, the Governor of South Carolina, Jim Hodges (the guy in the suit & tie in the image below), showed up at our deployment line (the line of stations you walk through to make sure you're ready & qualified to deploy). With him was a special guest: the University of South Carolina head football coach, Lou Holtz, decked out in a desert-shaded flight suit. The Air Force PR team decided to snap a photo shortly before it was my turn to meet the coach:



There were far more enlisted troops going through the line than officers, so, when Lou noticed the officer's rank on my uniform, he asked where I went to college. What a setup. :)

"Coach, I graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1999."

His eyes lit up, he gave me a giant hug, and he said, "That's the most special place on earth. I'm so honored to have been head coach there. And that's where I'm going to be buried someday, right next to my wife."

Of course, comments like that aren't uncommon for Lou Holtz. In this case, however, he was delivering them as the sitting head coach of South Carolina's football program while standing next to the state's governor, who had earned two degrees from the University of South Carolina. The governor looked at me, and then at Lou, with a bit of a stink-eye. Lou didn't care at all; we talked a little bit more about my time at ND, and then he wished me well.

It's a moment that will live with me for the rest of my life.

It was the summer of 1995 (the first year ND went to Culver Military Academy for fall camp, and the story of how a few of us trainers and managers almost got into it with a bunch of skinheads at the local bar is a story for another day).

It was about a zillion degrees, with 100% humidity. The water table was about 2" below the practice field, so the ground was steamy all day long.

I was a student athletic trainer about to start my junior year. I was hauling a "cow" which was a 5 gallon Gatorade cooler mounted on a 2-wheel rolling cart with an electric motor and four soda nozzles on it - we used it to fill water bottles during practices.

Well, I was hauling one of these things back to the field after re-filling it, and the wheels were getting stuck in the soggy turf. I turned around to pull it, and had my back to the players practicing as I dragged it down the sideline. Right about that time, the receivers were running routes, and a ball was overthrown. Next thing I knew, Derrick Mayes had about decapitated me. Everything was upside down and my face was buried in the dirt.

Coach was pissed - I'd almost injured one of our best players. He said, to nobody in particular, "I don't know who that was(h), but their ass(h) needs(h) to be kicked."

Last home game that season, I snapped a picture of Lou and Mayes running into the tunnel after pre-game warmups. They were both gracious enough to sign it for me.

About 10 years ago at this point. He was the featured speaker at my company's national convention. The head of our events team was a big ND fan, and knew that I was an alum, so he pulled some strings on and got me some face time with Lou. He couldn't have been nicer. After he found out that I was an ND man and a student during his tenure it was like I was the only one in the room. As much as I wanted to ask him questions, he asked me about my life - how long I've been with the company, what was my role, if I had a family, kids, etc. I'll never forget one thing that he said to me, "Remember, the key to being successful is to always surround yourself with people who love you." Of course, Lou killed it as a speaker, and I had the biggest smile on my face the whole time.

...no harm in repeating given the circumstances.

I've had the good fortune of being in Lou's company a handful of times through the years as close friends of mine are very close friends of his. In May of 2014 there was an Irish Legends charity golf tournament at Olympia Fields followed by a gala in Chicago. It was essentially Lou, Ara, and BK's charities all operating the event under one umbrella. My friends were involved with constructing the celebrity teams and asked if I would be one of the "celebs." There was going to be a competition between the three coaches' teams. I had recently had some success in some bigger amateur events and Lou wanted some better players to stack the deck so he would come out victorious. I showed up the morning of the event and there's a banner with Rick Mirer, Mark May, Stuart Scott, Johnny Lujack, Jerome Bettis, et al...and there's my name hidden in the middle of them.

The morning of the tournament it snowed . It was miserably cold and everyone was in the clubhouse waiting to see if we could actually play (postscript: the tournament was eventually cancelled). Jack Nolan MC'd a Q&A where they ran through each of the celebs in the event and the coaches gave some thoughts on each of them. They get to my name. I'm the only person Jack has never heard of, he kind of rambles through a couple things on my resume and goes, "Coach, why am I not surprised that you enlisted a ringer for your squad?"

Without missing a beat, Lou fires back "if you can't recruit, you can't win."

Fast forward to September of that year and the USGA Mid Amateur was hosted at the course where I grew up. Traditionally the host club has a featured speaker the Thursday before the tournament. Usually they have some sort of tie to the club or area (for example, Jay Bilas spoke at Charlotte CC since he's a member...same with Condelezza Rice at Birmingham CC), but I was on the marketing committee and I suggested Lou because why the hell not? Lou graciously agreed to come into town and do it for free. He arrived that Thursday afternoon and after chatting with local press turned and asked me if I'd give him a tour of the courses. We hopped in a cart and we drove around chatting. It was pretty surreal.

At one point he asked if I was feeling any pressure being the hometown guy and all the focus that came with locally. I said not really, the pressure I felt was getting to this point and the fear of missing out...now that it was here I was enjoying it. He looked at me very seriously and said, "listen, I want you to remember one thing if you start to feel pressure: pressure is for those who haven't prepared for the moment. If they were asking you to perform surgery this weekend then you'd have every right to feel pressure, but you've been preparing for this moment and you should be excited to show the fruits of your labor. Any time you feel nerves creep in remind yourself of that."

At that point in his career he was kind of a caricature on ESPN with Mark May, but that moment was a glimpse into Lou the coach and motivator. It was such a simple comment, but it instantly instilled confidence and had me ready to run through a wall. When pressure mounted that week, I would say that line before I started my pre-shot routine: pressure is for those who haven't prepared for the moment. It instantly focused me. I use it to this day.

I had a good run that week and Lou texted me throughout. Still have his number saved. One of my greatest accomplishments in life is the fact that I never once drunk dialed/texted him.

The Holtz family, Luanne Altenbaumer, Skip Holtz, Liz Holtz Messaglia, share the difficult news that our father, Coach Lou Holtz, is presently facing a health challenge. While this is a challenging time, our focus is on maintaining his comfort, quality of life and care in his Orlando home. As family has always been the highest importance to Coach, we are holding to each other and focusing on making every moment and day count. The whole family appreciates your thoughts, prayers, and support but ask for privacy as we navigate this journey. Psalm 41:3

For my dad it was Ara. For me it was Lou. He epitomized what not only ND football was, but what Notre Dame was all about. Doing things the right way and not hiding from it. My prayers are with him and his family

and brought so much to ND football.

That football excellence at Notre Dame had great significance beyond football.

I think that larger view was key to building the team and inspiring the University and the fan base.

His teams felt as if they had a higher calling.

He was what, 150lbs with a lisp?

Remarkable.

5 foot 10, 150 pound giant". I endorse that.

He was the coach from my middle school years until my college years when he resigned (by force). I truly loved and respected the man. Still do.

...friend and said, "So who the heck gets to drive on the sidewalk on this campus?"
It was 1994, a difficult season for the Irish. This did, however, make tickets more attainable for a bunch of small town South Dakota Fighting Irish fans. It was the Air Force game, Senior Day. When we saw several large and athletic young men hustling across campus, shrugging into their jackets and straightening their ties, we hastily made our way to the rope-lined sidewalk beside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. We weren't very close to the entrance where the players were filing into the sanctuary, though. As we watched and identified numerous players and assistant coaches, we noticed a dark Buick sedan driving on the same sidewalk we were standing near.
In answer to my question, out of the vehicle comes Coach Holtz.
"THAT is who gets to drive on these sidewalks!" my friend whispered hoarsely as he elbowed my rib cage.
Coach Holtz, to our amazement, stopped right in front of us, and with a blank expression said, "Huh, dedicated fans...up this early just to watch us go to Church!"
His face then broke into a wry grin as, with a shake of his head and a wave over his shoulder, he strode off into the entrance to calls of support from us all.
May the love, strength, grace, and mercy of God be with Coach Holtz this day and always. May he feel Christ's healing touch upon his body, mind and spirit. May the Holy Spirit fill his life and bring him to the peace which passes understanding...Amen and God Bless!

indicator of a person's true character. It's easy to be nice to someone who can boost your career or life in general. It's much harder to take time and treat one of us with that same level of care and kindness when you're busy or viewed to be "important". Lou, Ara, and Father Ted had that ability to treat each of us with respect and care - and it'ss why they are so beloved.

I met him briefly at the PGA Show in Orlando. He was in the booth of a company we do business with. I had a nice two minute conversation with him. Prayers to Lou and his family.

when he addressed the ND Club of Washington, DC.

A priest delivered the invocation. When Lou spoke, he said "Father, my wife and I thought that we had done a good job of raising our son in the Catholic faith, until one day I said to him - 'Skip, how would you like to be an altar boy?' Skip said - 'Sure, how much does it pay?"

When Lou began his speech, he said "I knew that you ND alumni would be a tough bunch, but I didn't realize how tough, until I walked into the hotel and someone said to me, "What's the matter with you? You've been the ND coach for six months and you haven't won a game yet!"

In the Q & A, someone asked Lou if Tim Brown would have a big role in the offense. Lou replied, "Unless the opposing team intercepts the snap from center, we're going to get the ball in the hands of Tim Brown."

After Lou's speech, when we were leaving the hotel ballroom, everyone was commenting, "Wow, have we got a special coach!"

God bless you, Lou! The prayers of ND Nation are storming heaven on your behalf.

I'll never forget watching you abuse Bowden in 1993. You were our "Caesar" on the sidelines that day.

Event for my wife’s employer. Since the event coordinator was good friends with her I was able to attend the private reception with the company’s executives. He had a lot of great jokes about speaking to a company named Spartan Stores.
Anyway we were able to get individual pictures with him. When it was my turn he mentioned it was good to have an Irish fan in the room. He then put his arm around my shoulders and slouched down to appear shorter that me (I’m 5’11”). That really stuck with me as I was watching the others after me - he did the same with all of them - I felt like he was making me the focus of the image and maintaining his image from the sidelines where his players towered over him.

I’m praying for for the Lord to comfort him in this time. He is one of my heroes

The first was at the Crosby golf tournament at Bermuda Run, near Clemmons, NC. I think he came in for that event nearly every year. My wife and I drove out there just to get a look at him on the course. We caught up with him coming off the green. He wore his classic navy blue ND cap with the gold interlocking letters. Some yokel yelled out, "Hey Lou, where ya git that hat?" He tipped his cap to him. I brought a Notre Dame program from a football game I attended and asked him to sign it for my dad (class of '48). He was very courteous and obliged. Several years later when I was working at a local radio station, I got a ticket to a Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Greensboro Coliseum where Coach was the featured speaker. I got a chance to meet Lou again during the cocktail hour before the dinner and he was just great, shook my hand, big smile, I asked him how the defense was going to be that year and he spent several minutes talking ND football with me and several other people near me. His speech was terrific and his words continue to motivate me all these years later. I love that guy and pray for the best possible outcome.

I will try to live by those principles until the day I die.

Lou, like a lot of coaches, moved between jobs frequently and always said his very first task was getting his new players, whom he’d never met, to buy into all the changes he’d be making as the new coach. He said players want to know three things from a new coach: 1) Can I trust you?, 2) Do you love me?, 3) are you committed to excellence in all things?

Those are the exact same questions new employees are asking from their new bosses. Having been a new boss myself many times, those are the exact same three principles I have applied in all of my new leadership positions. I need to make sure my direct reports can answer all three questions with a resounding “Yes!” I didn’t learn this myself - I learned it from Lou and recognizing from my own experiences that he was right, every time.

He’s a brilliant leader and that’s why his players love him.

When he stopped to talked to us you would think we were old friends. Coach Holtz was one of the first icons I admired for his wit, his love of Notre Dame, and most importantly, the excellence he demanded from his players on and off the field. May our Lord bless you coach and peace be with you and your family.

Very sad. A great man. A great life. A bright light in a sometimes dim world.

Heaven is about gain another 5-star human being.

. . . and Coach, thank you.

I'm praying to both today for Lou! ☘️💚

Almighty God, look on this your servant Louis, lying in great weakness, and comfort him with the promise of life everlasting, given in the resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

widely reported ten hours ago including WNDU which quotes Kyle Sutherland of On3 and Rivals.

gives you insight into his championship season.

• Click here for link at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671676741/ref=x_gr_bb_ama

great man, met him on several occasions

It's hard to imagine anyone more dynamic to face a daunting challenge like this one.

Prayers as well for the Holtz family. If this is Lou’s final journey home, I pray it is peaceful and without pain.

Hail Mary full of grace the lord is with thee
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus
Holy Mary, mother of God pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death
Amen

Pray for Coach Holtz.

A giant of a man in the football world IMHO.

at least based on what I saw on X.

Prayers said.

Posted on social media about a more recent event.

• Click here for link at https://www.facebook.com/100079007937943/posts/emotional-not

Prayers being said. Hang in there Coach