A Single Stat Reveals the True Greatness of Lou Holtz as a Coach

Lou Holtz brought significant improvement everywhere he coached, including Notre Dame

Oct 2, 1993; Stanford, CAL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Lou Holtz on the field prior to the game against Stanford Cardinal at Foster Field at Stanford Stadium. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

It's a shame that the youth these days see the name Lou Holtz and probably think first of an impression that was done of him, or Ohio State head coach Ryan Day calling him out a few years back.

I'm not saying the impression isn't funny or spot on, but it does take away from what was a legendary coaching career.

Holtz is most remembered for his 11 seasons at Notre Dame, where he took a Fighting Irish football program from mediocre back to being a powerhouse. What he did with Notre Dame was simply what Holtz did everywhere, making programs better and quickly.

So what exactly did Lou Holtz inherit in each of his college football stops? And how much did he turn each program around?

Here's a look back at each stop Holtz made as a collegiate head coach, what each team did in its five years previous to his arrival, and what each did under his watch.

You'll quickly see a theme develop.

Lou Holtz at William & Mary

Holtz took over for Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy at William & Mary and slghtly improved things.

William & Mary five years previous to Holtz's arrival: 24-31 (.436)
Under Lou Holtz (two years): 17-20 (.459)

Lou Holtz at North Carolina State

North Carolina State five years previous to Holtz: 24-27-2 (.480)
Under Lou Holtz (four years): 33-12-3 (.718)

Despite only being there for four seasons, Holtz remains the eighth-winningest coach in Wolfpack history to this day.

Lou Holtz at Arkansas

"I love the Hogs, Woo Pig Sooie, can say it as well as anybody. It was just very, very special."

Wanted to share this tonight with the news of Lou Holtz being put in hospice care. This was before the Arkansas-Notre Dame game as he was an honorary captain for the matchup. Glad I… pic.twitter.com/cr5B6uvmTG

— Courtney Mims (@MimsCourtney) January 30, 2026

Arkansas five years previous to Holtz: 32-21-3 (.598)
Under Lou Holtz (seven years): 60-21-2 (.734)

Holtz began his run at Arkansas with trips to the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Sugar Bowl in consecutive years. The Razorbacks totaled six bowl appearances in his seven years at the helm.

Lou Holtz at Minnesota

Minnesota five years previous to Holtz: 19-35-1 (.354)
Minnesota under Holtz (two years): 10-12 (.454)

Holtz helped guide Minnesota to a bowl game in just his second season but opted to leave for Notre Dame instead of coach that game in 1985.

Lou Holtz at Notre Dame

Notre Dame five years previous to Holtz: 30-26-1 (.526)
Notre Dame under Holtz (11 years): 100-30-2 (.765)

The 1988 team gets remembered for being the one that won a national championship for Holtz, but the Irish may have been even better a year later when they went 12-1 and beat six ranked teams, four of which were in the top 10 at the time the games were played.

Lou Holtz at South Carolina

South Carolina five years previous to Holtz: 20-32-1 (.386)
South Carolina under Holtz: 33-37 (.471)

Holtz inherited a mess at South Carolina, going 0-11 his first season as head coach in 1999. In a way that makes things more impressive as he went 33-26 over his final four seasons while winning a pair of Outback Bowls.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thought:

Holtz gets credited with one national championship at Notre Dame but it could very well be three.

1988 speaks for itself, while the case was there to be made in 1989 before the late season loss at Miami. That team did beat No. 1 Colorado in the Orange Bowl to close the year, mind you.

1993 should have been the third, had the "head-to-head" element that so many cried for this past December been taken into account, as Notre Dame beat eventual champion Florida State 31-24 that season.