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Before Lou Holtz became a legendary college football coach, he played linebacker and center at Kent State University and then graduated from the school in 1959 with a bachelor's degree in history.
Best known for leading Notre Dame football to a national championship, Holtz died at the age of 89, his family announced on March 4. Holtz had reportedly entered hospice care in late January.
Holtz went 249-132-7 in 33 seasons as a college head coach. He worked at the helm of William & Mary (1969-71), North Carolina State (1972-75), Arkansas (1977-83), Minnesota (1984-85), Notre Dame (1986-96) and South Carolina (1999-2004).
"I was lucky to know him. He's one in a million," Frank Stams, the councilman for Ward 8 in Cuyahoga Falls who starred on Notre Dame's defense under Holtz, said during a phone interview.
Former Notre Dame All-American Frank Stams recalls why Lou Holtz was a special football coach
At Notre Dame, Holtz went 100-30-2 in 11 seasons, guiding the Fighting Irish to a 12-0 record and the 1988 national title. On Jan. 2, 1989, Notre Dame ended the 1988 season with a 34-21 win over West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.
"Under Lou, we practiced for three and a half hours," said Stams, whose seven seasons as an NFL linebacker included a stint with the Browns (1992-94). "These kids today, I look at the pros, and I look at college — how easy? The game was a lot harder back then. The NCAA has rules against what Holtz did with the length of practices. But he was hands-on, especially with special teams. He ran the offense. The offense, that veer-option was a well-oiled machine, and it had to be. It was all about precision and timing and execution and speed.
"Now, the defense, [Holtz] gave the defense to [coordinator Barry] Alvarez. And the defense, we were just a bunch of guys flying to the ball, playing and covering everybody else's ass. But we had the chemistry for it. He had the chemistry for the offense. The chemistry was just right for that championship team. Chemistry is so important. Look at the Browns. They have no chemistry. Chemistry is not just important with players, but chemistry is important with coaches and players. It was magical. Everybody played hard for Barry, and everybody played for Lou."
Kent State graduate Lou Holtz described himself as 'an Ohio boy'
Born in Follansbee, West Virginia, Holtz grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio.
“I’m an Ohio boy,” Holtz said in 2015. “The morals, the values, the lessons I learned [I still use]. There are no better people than people in Midwest Ohio.”
Holtz made the comment as the keynote speaker during a fundraiser for First Tee — Greater Akron at Firestone Country Club. At the time, Stams was First Tee's executive director, and he recruited his old coach to attend the event.
"I asked him to come and speak and raise some money for the kids," Stams said. "He says, 'When do you want me there?' And here's a guy that probably had a dirt floor for a living room in West Virginia. He came from humble beginnings. It's like the great American success story. It's unbelievable what he was able to accomplish in his life."
Although Holtz never coached in Northeast Ohio, he had connections to the local football scene.
Stams was one of them. He graduated from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School before he played outside linebacker and dabbled at rush defensive end for Notre Dame during its national championship season. He became a consensus All-American in 1988.
From the family of Lou Holtz pic.twitter.com/aYWiXYVnLq
— The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) March 4, 2026
At Notre Dame, Holtz succeeded the late Gerry Faust, who resigned as the Fighting Irish's head coach in 1985 and took the job at the University of Akron.
"I'll never forget that first day [Holtz] comes into the room smoking a pipe, and he took control," Stams said. "This is hard. I mean, we're a mess at Notre Dame — a lot of problems, and some of it's discipline. He took that team, and he whipped us into shape. In three short years, he goes undefeated and wins the national championship. There's about three or four guys in the world who could do that, and he was one of them.
"Lou wasn't the easiest guy to play for, but you know what? Talking to some of those old-timers that played for Ara Parseghian, Ara Parseghian wasn't the easiest guy to play for from what I understand. But you know what? Life isn't easy. ... He created a higher standard. Was he tough? Yeah, but you know what? Playing football's tough, and life's tough. He's a throwback. In a lot of ways, [Nick] Saban was successful with doing that because I know them both. Lou was that rock every day. Whether you liked it or not, you knew what to expect, and, to me, that's everything."
There are other ties Holtz had to the Akron area.
Former Copley and Ellet high school football coach Bill McLain played guard and linebacker at Kent State, lettering in 1955 and 1956. Holtz lettered with the Golden Flashes in 1957. Holtz and McLain were roommates on KSU's campus before Holtz rose to fame as a coach.
"He liked to talk about football, and I did as well," McLain, 91, said by phone. "He was a fun guy. He really was. He was a talker. Lou, he was easy to like, and he was a good person."
Holtz brought a big-picture philosophy to his job.
“We complicate life, but it doesn’t need to be that way,” Holtz said during his speaking engagement for First Tee — Greater Akron in 2015. “It all goes back to the attitude we have. I never felt I coached football. I coached life.”
Notre Dame national championship-winning coach Lou Holtz is in the College Football Hall of Fame
Holtz was inducted into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. He visited Kent State in 1990, when the university inducted him into its Varsity K Athletics Hall of Fame.
"I've always been proud I went to Kent State," Holtz said 36 years ago at KSU. "The best decision I ever made with the exception of selecting my wife."
In 2020, Holtz was preceded in death by his wife, Beth Barcus Holtz. The couple had four children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
In addition to coaching, Holtz worked for CBS Sports and ESPN. He was not immune to controversies — political in nature or otherwise. He ruffled feathers, at times, as a college football analyst.
Holtz also had a brief NFL tenure. He went 3-10 as the head coach of the New York Jets before resigning prior to the franchise's 1976 season finale.
As a college coach, though, Holtz achieved undeniable success. He became the first coach in NCAA history to lead six programs to a bowl game and four programs to a top-20 poll finish. He posted a record of 12-8-2 in bowl games.
"You talk about a guy with strong conviction and belief and a plan, Lou was always about a plan," Stams said. "You've got to have a plan. And, man, he just executed the s--- out of his plan."
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at [email protected]. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Lou Holtz dies at 89. Remembering Notre Dame coach and Kent State grad