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National champion head coach Lou Holtz reportedly entered hospice care at age 89.
Best known for his time on the sidelines at Arkansas and Notre Dame, Holtz coached college football for 33 years. He was the head coach of the Fighting Irish for 11 seasons from 1986 to 1996, where he finished with a record of 110-30-2.
ABC57 in Indiana was one of the first to report the news.
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Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz listens before receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., Thursday, December 3, 2020. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In 1988, Notre Dame finished with a perfect 12-0 record and won the Fiesta Bowl, which remains their last national championship. He had a record of 249-132-7 during his coaching career.
Holtz rose to even greater prominence during his tenure as a college football analyst on ESPN.
He played at Kent State before coaching as an assistant in 1960, then got his first head coaching job in 1969 at William & Mary. Holtz then left for NC State, spending four seasons in Raleigh, before giving the NFL a shot. That stint didn’t work, however, as the Jets went 3-10 and he resigned.
Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks on during an NCAA football game. (Focus on sport/Getty Images)
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In recent years, Holtz has been a strong supporter of President Donald Trump. In February 2024, Holtz said on social media that the country “needs[ed] to bring America back to greatness! ยป
Holtz, who spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2020, shortly after former President Joe Biden defeated him in the election.
“This is the greatest honor or award you can receive, and I receive it with mixed emotions. First of all, I’m honored,” Holtz said. Fox and friends After. “There are many more worthy people than me, I can assure you. Nobody is more grateful than me. So I’m thrilled to have this opportunity and at the same time, I’m thrilled to receive it from President Trump. The president that I admire and respect. I think he’s done a tremendous job.”
President Donald Trump presents the Medal of Freedom to former college football coach Lou Holtz in the Oval Office of the White House December 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)
At the time, Holtz also called Trump “one of the great presidents of my lifetime.”
