KENT - Legendary college football coach Lou Holtz was selected as the 2012 Centennial Alumni Award recipient for Kent State University's College of Education, Health and Human Services (EHHS) third annual Hall of Fame Awards.
Holtz, a graduate of East Liverpool High School, received his bachelor's degree in history and education from Kent State in 1959, and a master's degree from the University of Iowa in 1961. He played linebacker at Kent State for two seasons before an injury ended his career. He has received nine honorary doctorate degrees.
Holtz has established himself as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. He is the only coach in history of college football to take six different teams to a bowl game, to win five bowl games with different teams and to have four different college teams ranked in the final Top 20. He is most known for his 11-year tenure at Notre Dame University, where he led the Fighting Irish to a national championship in 1988, and an overall record of 100-30-2.
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Lou Holtz
"Nobody in my family attended college, and my dad only went to school until the third grade," Holtz said. "My high school counselor told my parents that I should go to college and become a coach. I had saved money to buy a car, but my parents made me spend it on college tuition.
"Kent State prepared me for my career in many ways. My professors and coaches, teammates, fraternity brothers, other students, and the ROTC program all played a prominent role in my success."
Currently, Holtz serves as a college football studio analyst on ESPN. He appears on ESPNews, ESPN College Game Day programs and Sports Center, and also serves as an onsite analyst for college football games. Holtz is a motivational speaker whose talks deal with overcoming impossible challenges by setting goals and working to achieve them. He has authored three New York Times best-selling books and has produced three motivational videos.
The Walter CampFootball Foundation Awards, a program that honors individuals who have attained success in their chosen professions, named Lou Holtz 1998's Man of the Year.
Holtz is married to Beth Barcus and they are the parents of four children and currently reside in Orlando, Fla.
Kent State's College of EHHS will honor Holtz and six other distinguished alumni, including Dr. Kenneth Cushner (Diversity AlumniAward) (Centennial Alumni Award), Dr. Mark Savickas (Distinguished Alumni Award), Shaknoza Yakubova (Recent Alumni Award), Dr. Ibrahim Makkawi (International Alumni Award), Mary Cibella, J.D. (Distinguished Service to EHHS), and Dr. Frank A. Fecser (Alumni Leadership Award).
To purchase tickets to Kent State's College of Education, Health and Human Services Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony, visit commerce.cashnet.com/halloffame or contact Hope Bradley at 330-672-2208 or hbradle2@kent.edu by Sept. 21.
For more information about Kent State's College of Education, Health and Human Services, visit www.kent.edu/ehhs.
