Former South Carolina football coach Lou Holtz, Notre Dame national champion, dies at 89

Legendary college football coach Lou Holtz, who coached South Carolina from 1999-2004, died March 4 at 89, according to his family.

Holtz had been in hospice care since Jan. 29.

Following Holtz's death, South Carolina football released a statement, reflecting on both the personal and football accomplishments Holtz was involved in with the Gamecocks.

"The impact of Coach Holtz’s tenure is not limited to wins, awards, bowl games, or historical milestones. It is reflected in the quotes and social media posts of his former players, coaches, and staff during the past week.  His true legacy lies in the life lessons he taught—lessons that extended far beyond football," the program's statement read.

The announcement said that "trying to get one quote that symbolizes Coach Holtz is extremely difficult" but ultimately, when recalling his impact, the program selected this quote.

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”

The program's statement said the quote was simple, well-stated, and "words to live by from Coach Holtz," concluding with "Prayers to Coach Holtz’ family, friends and anyone touched by his magnificent personality and grace."

Lou Holtz's record as South Carolina football coach

Holtz came out of retirement after two years at CBS Sports to take over the Gamecocks program in 1999. He went 0-11 before turning the program around to go 8-4 the following season when he was SEC coach of the year.

He went 33-37 across his six seasons in Columbia, including 9-3 in 2001, and went 2-0 in bowl games.

But his six-season tenure ended after South Carolina and Clemson were involved a 10-minute brawl in November 2004, which led both schools to forgo bowl bids. 

South Carolina was put on probation after Holtz’s departure, the third such Holtz-led program to be sanctioned by the NCAA.

Holtz retired from coaching again after his stint with South Carolina, finishing his career 249-132 across 33 seasons in college football.

Holtz returned to television, this time for ESPN where he spent a decade as a college football analyst.

Lou Holtz's career included Notre Dame national championship

Holtz spent 11 years at Notre Dame. He won 100 games and lost only 30, highlighted by the 1988 national championship where Notre Dame finished with a 12-0 record and victory over West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.

He started his coaching career at William & Mary in 1969 and coached for three seasons before taking the job at NC State in 1972 where he went 33–12 in four seasons.

Between his college coaching stints he took a brief stop in the NFL with the New York Jets in 1976 but resigned with one month remaining with the Jets 3-10.

His first job back was at Arkansas where he spent seven seasons and finished 60-21 before spending just under two seasons at Minnesota in 1984 and 1985. He didn't coach in the bowl game with the Gophers as he was already leaving for Notre Dame.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky‪@bylulukesin.bsky.social‬

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Lou Holtz death, South Carolina, Notre Dame football coach dies at 89