Why does ESPN keep Lou Holtz?

[day-day]

... Is my math incorrect?

yes

 

[BillDee]

Accomplishments????? Thats a 55% losing record or put another way 45% WINNING RECORD I believe. ACCOMPLISHMENTS? You have got to be joking, right?>??

No.

 

[thunderz7]

ESPN hates my guts,
they keep Lou just to make my urine boil!:biggrin:

 

[Florida Tom]

Yeah, I think he qualifies as an expert. He's done more than coach ND for one year. From Wikipedia :

"He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), 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 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 20 rankings."

Of course, those accomplishments don't translate to success as a TV analyst. I don't like watching Holtz, but have to admire his accomplishments.

Do some research on just how many of these programs he left & later were put on probation. Even the All Holy ND got hit. I don't admire a cheater, sorry we just differ on him, he stayed on the move for a reason.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Because every village needs an idiot.

 

[CrimSonami]

He works cheap.

Hah....... If I wrote the checks I'd pay him more to stay away. Maybe even send him over to CBS to assist Vern and annoy Gary during the games. Wouldn't that be a show?

RTR111

 

[lazlohollyfeld]

Accomplishments????? Thats a 55% losing record or put another way 45% WINNING RECORD I believe. ACCOMPLISHMENTS? You have got to be joking, right?>??

Your math is way off, it is a winning percentage of .651 or 65%.

 

[dayhiker]

Lou Holtz = Dick Vitale. I can't stand listening to either one of them and therefore don't.

 

[Florida Tom]

Lou Holtz = Dick Vitale. I can't stand listening to either one of them and therefore don't.

I hear ya on Vitale calling a game but he comes to Most Tampa Bay Rays games & the guy is just Great. Everyone loves him. He does not have a voice for TV or Radio Yea Baby.
Difference is Besides his wife & son who likes the Holtzer?

 

[dayhiker]

I hear ya on Vitale calling a game but he comes to Most Tampa Bay Rays games & the guy is just Great. Everyone loves him. He does not have a voice for TV or Radio Yea Baby.
Difference is Besides his wife & son who likes the Holtzer?

Both are homers (ND and Duke), both have grating personalities, both think much more highly of their opinions than do others, and both are there solely for entertainment purposes only(though I don't understand who they are entertaining.)

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Do some research on just how many of these programs he left & later were put on probation. Even the All Holy ND got hit. I don't admire a cheater, sorry we just differ on him, he stayed on the move for a reason.

Holtz left a good job at Arkansas over state politics. His initial moves were upward, but leaving Ark for Minnesota was a step back. That was due to state politics at the time. Remember that Frank Broyles called the shots in AR sports for 40 years.

 

[45longcolt]

Blank stare

 

[45longcolt]

Your math is way off, it is a winning percentage of .651 or 65%.

I stand corrected, Thanks

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Does everybody remember Xen Scott's admonition a few weeks ago to get facts straight? A look through this thread reveals some serious inconsistencies to me.

1) Holtz reputation as a cheater.

This is explained witout any context whatsoever. It is also amusing - why is it seemingly every Alabama fan thinks the NCAA is an impartial and fair arbiter when it involves OTHER schools, but never when it involves Alabama? "Well, he was at this school and they got hit with probation and this school and they got hit." Sounds good, but now let's try it a little closer to home: Gene Stallings got Alabama put on probation.

Everyone would scream if I said it that way and rightfully so - but let it be another school and this argument is just fine. Fact is - as even Stallings admitted - it DID occur under his watch.

Holtz left Arkansas over a commercial he made for Jesse Helms. He went to Minnesota and was there all of two years. The NY Times story where Holtz resigned points this out.

There's also this article:

The NCAA placed the University Minnesota on probation for two years and banned the football team from appearing in a bowl game next season for 17 rules violations in football, basketball and wrestling.

(I'm sorry, but you cannot blame Holtz for: a) rules violations in basketball and wrestling; or b) the inmates running the asylum at Minnesota, where the school winds up on probation every few years (remember them having to suspend virtually the entire b-ball team during March Madness about 13 years ago?).

You CAN blame Holtz for this part:

The committee said Lou Holtz, who left Minnesota for Notre Dame in November of 1985, committed two rules violations while he was the Golden Gophers' football coach. Holtz gave $250 to an athlete to pay for a course that allowed the athlete to remain eligible for competition. Holtz also was found to have given between $25 and $40 to Roselle Richardson to reimburse the former quarterback for the loss of a wallet.

(While I'm not condoning this, a total of less than $300 is chump change compared to, say, Cam Newton).

The Notre Dame probation was not only minor, it didn't even involve Holtz. It involved a booster.

Read Here.

The South Carolina sanctions occurred during a period of time Holtz had a 33-37 record, indicating he clearly needed all the help he could get (rim shot).

2) How many of you HONESTLY think Holtz was the only coach cheating?

Please note I am not Lou Holtz's PR guy. I never cared for him as a coach. But it's sick when everyone has a shorthand that is at least somewhat distorted. Holtz won 65% of his games. Given the fact every program he took over was downtrodden that's a pretty good winning pct.

Holtz was competing at Arkansas with the old SWC. Do ANY of you think ANY of those schools were clean?

That said - he needs to go to the old folks home. He gets on my nerves, and I just change the channel.

RTR

 

[selmaborntidefan]

One more thing: Holtz did have a pretty bad rep as a coach whose teams got into brawls both before and after games at both Notre Dame and S Carolina.

 

[cottontop1]

THANKS BAMANOOGA!! GREAT OBSERVATION!!. Time for ESPN to wise up and cut that NOTRE DAME mouth piece loose. COTTONOP1 OUT!!!.

 

[Crimson1967]

Endorsing Helms gets him in trouble at Arkansas, but he still gets hired on in liberal Minnesota?

 

[BillDee]

Do some research on just how many of these programs he left & later were put on probation. Even the All Holy ND got hit. I don't admire a cheater, sorry we just differ on him, he stayed on the move for a reason.

I'm not idolizing or even defending the guy, just pointing out that he was more than a one season wonder at Notre Dame as you indicated. I don't care to watch or listen to him, but he has an excellent resume as a coach and is qualified to be a TV analyst/commentator.

 

[Tidewater]

...t he has an excellent resume as a coach and is qualified to be a TV analyst/commentator.

Other than the fact that he is senile, a blatant homer and can't speak clearly.
Other than that, he's well qualified.

Yosemite Sam said ND would go 5-0 and they went 0-5 in 2007. You can't be more wrong that that. He needs to go. Badly. With malice aforethought.

To answer the question in the OP, ESPN keeps him around for comedic value only.

 

[Florida Tom]

Lou won ONE UNO national championship at ND in 1988. That is what I was referring to so sorry.he did LEAVE every program on probation.
To me just my opinion, not gonna change your life one bit, I can't stand hin he is just one grade above Ara Parcheesagan as someone who should never call games or give opinions because of his bias, he is NO friend of Alabama for sure.