Letter from the Executive Director: March 19, 2026
Published on March 19, 2026
Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,
On Monday, we bid a final farewell to beloved former football coach Lou Holtz. The gray and snowy weather on campus was fitting for the somber occasion, but the funeral and surrounding events were a beautiful and moving tribute to Lou’s remarkable impact on generations of Notre Dame players, alumni, fans, and friends.
It was incredible to look around the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and see it filled with hundreds of Lou’s former players, a testament to how much he meant to each of them. That legacy of service was reinforced during the eulogy given by his son, Skip Holtz ’87. He shared that, while he was in hospice, Lou greeted visitors by asking, “What can I do for you?” That’s just how he lived his life. The lesson, Skip said, is to put others before yourself—to make the world “a little warmer, better place than we found it.”
We have talked a lot this year on campus about what it means to cultivate hope, but I believe the very heart of it is about serving others. That’s what made Lou Holtz special. Imagine what happens when enough of us are asking the same question he did: What can I do for you?
All the best,
Dolly Duffy '84
Executive Director
Notre Dame Alumni Association