Lou Holtz died in March at 89, and Notre Dame is making sure he's on the field with them all year. Multiple insiders confirmed Tuesday that the Irish will carry a helmet decal honoring the legendary coach throughout the 2026 season.
Notre Dame will wear a helmet decal honoring former coach Lou Holtz.
Brett McMurphy backed up the report with a photo of the tribute, and the internet reaction was pretty much what you'd expect for a program that doesn't mess around with its uniforms — approval, and fast.
Notre Dame will honor former coach Lou Holtz with a helmet decal this season ❤️
The decal is a black-and-white circular graphic with matching "L" hand signals, placed on the back of the gold helmet. It debuts Sunday night when Notre Dame opens the season against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field — a fitting stage given how many big Saturdays Holtz gave this program.
Holtz went 100-30-2 across 11 seasons in South Bend from 1986-1996, and the signature year was 1988: a 12-0 finish, a win over top-ranked Miami, and a national title after beating West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. He won 249 games total across 6 different head coaching stops, but Notre Dame was always the job he was most identified with.
This isn't the first time the Irish have done this kind of tribute — they put an "ARA" decal on the helmet in 2017 for Ara Parseghian, another program legend. Now Holtz gets the same treatment, a small permanent reminder on the back of the helmet of who built the standard this team is still chasing.