Category:
Richest Athletes › Coaches
Net Worth:
$20 Million
Salary:
$6 Million
Birthdate:
Jan 6, 1937 (87 years old)
Birthplace:
Follansbee
Gender:
Male
Profession:
American football player, Coach, American Football coach, Actor
Nationality:
United States of America
Lou Holtz is an American former football coach and former college football analyst for ESPN with a net worth of $20 million. Lou Holtz last coached for the University of South Carolina from 1999 to 2004 but is probably best known for his tenure at Notre Dame. After retiring from coaching, Holtz worked as a TV college football analyst for CBS in the 1990s and ESPN from 2005 until 2015.
Louis Leo Holtz was born on January 6, 1937, in Follansbee, West Virginia. He is the son of Andrew and Anne Holtz. He grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, and graduated from East Liverpool High School. Afterward, Lou attended Kent State University, where he earned a degree in history and played on the football team as a linebacker. He trained under Kent State’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and earned a commission as a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army Reserve by the time he graduated. He received his master’s degree at the University of Iowa while coaching at the school as a graduate assistant.
Lou Holtz’s coaching career began in 1960 as an assistant at the University of Iowa before making stops as an assistant coach at William & Mary (1961-1963), Connecticut (1964-1965), South Carolina (1966-1967), and Ohio State (1968). The Ohio State Buckeyes won the national championship that year. Holtz returned to William & Mary for his first head coaching gig in 1969 and led the Indians (now Tribe) to the Southern Conference title and a Tangerine Bowl berth. He moved to North Carolina State as head coach in 1972 before making the jump to the professional ranks.
Holtz was named head coach of the New York Jets in 1976, but he resigned 10 months later after a 3-10 start and returned to the college ranks as head coach at the University of Arkansas. He spent seven years with the Razorbacks reaching six bowl games and compiling a 60-21-2 record. His stint with the University of Minnesota lasted for one season before he got the Notre Dame job in 1986. Lou took over a struggling Fighting Irish football team and helped turn them into a college football contender. Under his directorship, Notre Dame went to the finals for nine consecutive years. His 1988 team went 12-0 and won the Fiesta Bowl and National Championship. He coached at the University of South Carolina from 1999 through 2004. Though his time with South Carolina was quite successful, it was also marred with a number of penalties and accusations of NCAA rule-breaking. His peak coaching salary was $6 million per year with South Carolina.
Holtz is the only college football coach to bring six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to lead four schools to the final top 20 rankings. He is a two-time winner of the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award, two-time Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, two-time Sporting News College Football COY, Walter Camp Coach of the Year, ACC Coach of the Year, SWC Coach of the Year, and SEC Coach of the Year. Lou was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1983, the Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2012. Lou Holtz was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
After retiring from coaching, Holtz was hired by CBS as a college football analyst during the 1990s. In 2005, he joined ESPN and appeared on the sports shows “College Football Scoreboard,” “College Football Final,” “SportsCenter,” and “College Football Live.” He became known for his distinctive voice and often appeared alongside Rece Davis and Mark May. In April 2015, it was reported that Holtz was leaving ESPN.
Lou was married to Beth Barcus from July 22, 1961, until her death from cancer on June 30, 2020. The couple had four children together, three of whom graduated from Notre Dame. Lou’s cousins Ashton and Kerosene Holtz both played football in Fort Scott, Kansas. Lou lives in the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida.
In 1990, Holtz received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. In December 2020, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump.
Holtz is on the Catholic Advisory Board of Ave Maria Mutual Funds and gives motivational speeches. He is also a member of the Augusta National Golf Club.
In November of 2011, Lou appeared as himself in a Discover Card commercial.
In 1997, Lou paid $254,000 for a home in an Orlando suburb. In 2015, the 11,000-square-foot home was struck by lightning and caught fire, causing significant damage. He then renovated and rebuilt it. In September 2020, Lou put the home on the market for $4.5 million. He sold the Lake Nona mansion for $4 million.
