Louis Leo Holtz, is an American former football coach and television analyst. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York Jets (1976), the University of Arkansas (1977–1983), the University of Minnesota (1984–1985), the University of Notre Dame (1986–1996), and the University of South Carolina (1999–2004), compiling a career college head coaching record of 249–132–7. Holtz's 1988 Notre Dame team went 12–0 with a victory in the Fiesta Bowl and was the consensus national champion. Holtz is the only college football coach to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to the final top 15 rankings.

Holtz was born in Follansbee, West Virginia, the son of Anne Marie (Tychonievich) and Andrew Holtz, a bus driver. His father was of German and Irish descent, while his maternal grandparents were emigrants from Chernobyl, Ukraine. He grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, where he was raised as a Roman Catholic. He graduated from East Liverpool High School. After high school, Holtz attended Kent State University. He was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, and graduated in 1959 with a degree in history. Holtz also trained under Kent State's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps and earned a commission as a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army Reserve at the time of his graduation from college. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1960, at Iowa, where he received his master's degree. From there, he made stops as an assistant at William & Mary (1961–1963), Connecticut (1964–1965), South Carolina (1966–1967) and Ohio State (1968). The 1968 Ohio State team won a national championship with Holtz as an assistant.

Holtz was married to Beth Barcus from July 22, 1961, until her death from cancer on June 30, 2020. Holtz currently resides in Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida. He and Beth had four children, three of whom are Notre Dame graduates. His children include head coach Skip Holtz. His cousins Ashton and Kerosene Holtz both played football in Fort Scott, Kansas, as a linebacker and defensive end. Holtz is on the Catholic Advisory Board of the Ave Maria Mutual Funds, and gives motivational speeches. Coach Holtz is a member at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. On June 23, 2015, Holtz's Lake Nona home was damaged by a house fire that was most likely triggered by a lightning strike.

In 1990, Holtz received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. Holtz was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Notre Dame on May 22, 2011. On April 19, 2012, Holtz was inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame. Holtz was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Education from the University of South Carolina on December 17, 2012. Holtz was awarded an honorary Doctor in Public Service from Trine University and elected to the board of trustees in 2011. Trine also honored Holtz in 2013 by naming a program the Lou Holtz Master of Science in Leadership Program. He was also awarded an honorary Doctorate in Communications from Franciscan University of Steubenville on May 9, 2015, and delivered a commencement address. Holtz was elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1983, and the Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame in 1998. On December 3, 2020, Holtz was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump.