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The national champion’s head coach Lou Holtz has reportedly entered hospice care at the age of 89.
Best known for manning 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 1986-1996, finishing with a 110-30-2 record.
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 being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., Thursday, Dec. 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 went 249-132-7 in his coaching career.
Holtz gained even more prominence during his time as a college football analyst at ESPN.
He played at Kent State before starting coaching as an assistant in 1960, then got his first head coaching job in 1969 at William & Mary. Holtz later left for NC State and spent four seasons in Raleigh before giving the NFL a shot. That stint didn’t work out, though, as the Jets went 3-10 and he stepped down.
Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish watches during an NCAA football game. (Focus on Sports/Getty Images)
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In recent years, Holtz has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. In February 2024, Holtz wrote on social media that the country needs[ed] to train America back to greatness!”
Holtz, who spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Trump in 2020, shortly after former President Joe Biden defeated him in the election.
“It’s the highest honor or award you can possibly receive, and I receive it with mixed emotions. First of all, I’m humbled,” Holtz told Fox & Friends afterwards. “There are many more people far more deserving than me, I can assure you. No one 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. I admire and respect the president. I think he did a great job.”
President Donald Trump presents the Medal of Freedom to former college football coach Lou Holtz in the Oval Office of the White House on 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.”
