Louis Leo "Lou" Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is a retired American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

 (1972–1975), the University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

 (1977–1983), the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 (1984–1985), the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

 (1986–1996), and the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

 (1999–2004), compiling a career record of 249–132–7. Holtz's 1988 Notre Dame team

1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1988 college football season. The Irish, coached by Lou Holtz, ended the season with 12 wins and no losses, winning the national championship...

 went 12–0 with a victory in the Fiesta Bowl

1989 Fiesta Bowl

The 1989 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl, played on January 2, 1989, was the 18th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game featured the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the West Virginia Mountaineers....

 and was the consensus national champion

NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship

A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...

.