Lou Holtz and Our Lady on the Dome

Lou Holtz’s heartfelt sentiments, which may seem schmaltzy to anyone except Notre Dame true believers, capture the essence of what made Louis Leo “Lou” Holtz such a distinctive football coach. He loved the Blessed Mother and, as he deemed it, her school. The football program was not ancillary to Notre Dame’s Catholic mission but integrated into it. Holtz died last week, but he’ll be remembered for being much more than a successful football coach, and for his memorable quotes, such as, “I don’t think God cares who wins [the game], but his Mother does.”