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Lou Holtz death: President Donald Trump calls legendary coach 'winner both on and off the field'

Danby: Daniel Hager03/06/26DanielHagerOn3

Legendary Notre Dame and Arkansas head coach Lou Holtz, who entered hospice care in January, passed away Wednesday at the age of 89. Holtz is widely considered as one of the most iconic college football coaches in the sport’s history.

Just days after Holtz’s passing, President Donald Trump released a heartfelt statement via The White House on X/Twitter. Holtz was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in December 2020.

“Lou was an absolute WINNER both on and off the field,” Trump said. “Not only did he spearhead Notre Dame’s HISTORIC undefeated season in 1988…he raised Millions upon Millions for struggling student-athletes, and the AMAZING University of Notre Dame (Go Irish!)…Rest in Peace, Lou. Because of Patriots like you, we have made America GREAT AGAIN!”

Holtz won a national championship at Notre Dame as part of a decorated coaching career, which included a memorable debut season at Arkansas. The Razorbacks went 11-1 during that 1977 season and took down Oklahoma in a historic Orange Bowl upset.

Lou Holtz is regarded as one of greatest coaches in college football history

Throughout his more than 40-year coaching career, including 32 as a college head coach, Holtz amassed a 249-132-7 overall record. He won two Bear Bryant Awards and Eddie Robinson Awards as national coach of the year, while winning conference championships at William & Mary, NC State and Arkansas. In 1988, Holtz led Notre Dame to a national championship – his lone title as a head coach.

Holtz retired from coaching after the 2004 season at South Carolina, when he joined ESPN as an analyst from 2005-15. This past season, he served as an honorary captain ahead of the matchup between Arkansas and Notre Dame – a resounding Fighting Irish victory at Razorback Stadium.

During his time in Fayetteville, Holtz amassed a 60-21-2 overall record, including the upset win over Oklahoma in the 1977 Orange Bowl. After two years at Minnesota, he went on to go 100-30-2 overall at Notre Dame while leading the Fighting Irish to a 1988 national title.

After the 1996 season, Holtz announced his first retirement and venture into TV as an analyst for CBS Sports. But he returned to the sidelines in 1999 in his second stint at South Carolina as head coach and inherited a 1-10 program upon his arrival. The Gamecocks went 0-11 in his first season, but turned around to go 8-4 in 2000. On the whole, Holtz had a 33-37 overall record in Columbia.

Holtz leaves behind a monstrous legacy that ensures that he will be remembered as one of the best to ever do it.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.