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Son of Lou Holtz releases statement on health after being placed in hospice care

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax01/31/26BarkleyTruax

Lou Holtz’s son, Kevin, released a statement on the health of his father following the news the longtime college football coach has been put in hospice care. Holtz was the head coach at Notre Dame, Arkansas and South Carolina, among others.

“The Holtz family shares 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,” he wrote in a FaceBook post. “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.”

Holtz, 89, retired from coaching after the 2004 season. This came after a second stint at South Carolina.

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.

In all, Holtz went 249-132-7 during a Hall of Fame career. He also spent a year with the New York Jets as head coach in 1976 before moving on to Arkansas the next season.

Holtz found immediate success in Fayetteville, going 11-1 in his first season as the Razorbacks upset Oklahoma in a memorable Orange Bowl. Arkansas then won a Southwest Conference title in 1979 with a 10-2 overall record and 7-1 mark in league play en route to a Sugar Bowl appearance.

After recording a 6-5 record in 1983, Holtz stepped down as Arkansas coach and eventually took over at Minnesota in 1984. But after two years with the Golden Gophers, he left for Notre Dame, where he became one of the most memorable coaches in the history of the program.

The Fighting Irish went 12-0 in 1988 en route to a national title and 12-1 the following season. Holtz’s 100 wins at Notre Dame put him third on the program’s all-time list behind Brian Kelly (113) and Knute Rockne (105).

After the 1996 season, Lou Holtz announced his first retirement before making his return to coaching in 1999 South Carolina, inheriting 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 finished with a 33-37 overall record in Columbia.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.