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SOUTH BEND – He is the only man to lead six universities to bowl games. Still, Lou Holtz never considered coaching his primary calling. He had a lot more to teach than X’s and O’s.
“I coached life. The same thing that would enable you to be a good player would enable you to be a good student, a good father, a good business person, etc.,” he said.
Holtz, who led Notre Dame to its last national championship in 1988 and also coached William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Carolina during his 33-season career, will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. He will be joined by fellow coaches John Cooper, the only coach to win a Rose Bowl with a Pac-10 school (Arizona State) and Big Ten school (Ohio State), Jim Donnan, who coached at Marshall and Georgia, and former Missouri Valley coach Volney Ashford.
Former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, 1959 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon of LSU and former Oklahoma State tailback Thurman Thomas head the class of 17 players being enshrined during two days of festivities today and Saturday.
Holtz will be the main attraction in the city where he enjoyed his biggest successes, bringing Notre Dame back to power after five lean seasons under Gerry Faust.
Who would have thought that the frail-looking kid who graduated 234th out of a class of 278 at East Liverpool High School in Ohio would have become a standout coach and master motivator? Certainly not his high school guidance counselor, who once told Holtz: “ ‘A lot of people don’t know what’s going on, but you don’t even suspect anything’s going on.’ ”
Holtz proved her wrong. There always seems to be something going on when the wisecracking, bespectacled man with a lisp is around. He led every team he coached to a bowl game by his second year on campus and led the Irish to a national championship in his third season en route to a 100-30-2 record in 11 seasons at Notre Dame. That gives him the second-most wins in Irish history, behind Knute Rockne’s record of 105-12-5.
Former Notre Dame split end Derrick Mayes said the key to Holtz’s success was his ability to inspire.
“Let’s face it, it wasn’t the X’s and O’s,” Mayes said. “There were many times he’d throw the playbook out the window and say, ‘We’re going to hit them in the mouth, knock them in the dirt.’ ”
A year ago, former players of Holtz formed “Lou’s Lads.” Mayes said the non-profit organization initially wants to raise money for former Holtz players who can’t afford to send their children to college but hopes to expand the scholarship program to others and get involved in community service.
“Coach Holtz says the resources we need in life are right under our noses. But it’s up to us to cultivate and maintain those relationships,” Mayes said. “That’s really the vision behind it all.”
