Lou Holtz to be honored by South Carolina during Week 5 game against Kentucky
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Lou Holtz is best known for leading Notre Dame to a national championship in 1998. After his retirement after the 1996 season, he returned to coaching in 1999 to lead South Carolina. Despite a winless first season, the Gamecocks went 8-4 in 2000 as Holtz finished 33-37 in Columbia.
On Saturday, South Carolina will honor the memory of Holtz during its Week 5 game against Kentucky. According to The Post and Courier’s David Cloninger, Holtz’s son, Skip Holtz, will be on hand with his family.
Holtz passed away in March at the age of 89. His time at South Carolina from 1999 to 2004 actually wasn’t his first spell with the program. In 1966 and 1967, he was an assistant coach under Paul Dietzel before serving on Woody Hayes’ staff at Ohio State during the Buckeyes’ 1968 championship season.
That opened the door to Holtz’s first head coaching job at William & Mary. He remained there for three seasons before spending four seasons at NC State. After a brief stint with the New York Jets, he returned to the college ranks, leading Arkansas for seven seasons before two seasons at Minnesota and 11 seasons at Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish are honoring Holtz all season long with a “LOU” helmet decal and two hands in the shape of an L.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
