Ave Maria School of Law Remembers Coach Lou Holtz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NAPLES, FL., (March 5, 2026)— Ave Maria School of Law joins many across the nation in mourning the passing of legendary football coach and leader Lou Holtz, who died Wednesday at the age of 89.
Coach Holtz was widely admired not only for his achievements in college football but for the character, faith, and leadership he demonstrated throughout his life. Known for his wit, discipline, and deep conviction about the importance of integrity and responsibility, he influenced generations of students, athletes, and leaders.
Coach Lou Holtz addresses graduates at Ave Maria School of Law’s 2016 Commencement ceremony, where he served as keynote speaker and received an honorary degree.
Ave Maria School of Law was honored to recognize Coach Holtz with an honorary degree in 2016, when he also served as the law school’s Commencement speaker. The recognition acknowledged both his remarkable accomplishments and the example he provided to young people seeking to lead lives of purpose and service. Coach Holtz was also a valued friend of the broader Ave Maria community and a supporter of the mission championed by Tom Monaghan to form leaders grounded in faith, character, and moral clarity.
Coach Holtz’s influence extended far beyond athletics. His example of leadership, discipline and integrity helped shape leaders in many fields. His message that character and responsibility are essential to leadership resonated with audiences across the country and continues to inspire students preparing to enter professional life.
Throughout his life, Coach Holtz often reminded young leaders that success begins with attitude and character.
As he famously said:
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
The Ave Maria School of Law community is grateful for Coach Holtz’s friendship, mentorship, and example. His legacy will endure not only through the many lives he shaped but through the values he championed—faith, discipline, and service to others.
We extend our prayers and condolences to his family and loved ones.
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Ave Maria School of Law is a Catholic law school dedicated to educating lawyers with the finest professional skills. Inspired by Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio, Ave Maria School of Law offers a distinctive legal education — an education characterized by the harmony of faith and reason. Formed by outstanding professional training and a distinctive educational philosophy, Ave Maria’s graduates are equipped for leading positions in law firms, corporate legal offices, the judiciary, and national, state, and local government.
Our mission is to offer an outstanding legal education in fidelity to the Catholic Faith, as expressed through Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church. University legal education began in Catholic universities, and Catholic law schools have been the bearers of a tradition that safeguards the dignity of the human person and the common good. Ave Maria School of Law affirms Catholic legal education’s traditional emphasis on the only secure foundation for human freedom — the natural law written on the heart of every human being. We affirm the need for society to rediscover those human and moral truths that flow from the nature of the human person and that safeguard human freedom.
