Lou Holtz era

Face The Facts said:

He had a losing record while here, but had us in a close battle against Troy Aikman and the Sooners. Lost 7-13, but the whole game felt like we were going to score a winning TD.

The contrast was so stark from Salem to him, we couldn't help but be optimistic.

Problem is his stint has probably scarred three generations of Gopher fans who now worry about a coach leaving before they are even successful.
One could say because of this, the Lou Holtz era might have been the worst thing to ever happen to MN football.

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It`s Minnesota`s first practice session for Saturday`s Big 10 game against Ohio State. As always, coach Lou Holtz is prepared.

While the Golden Gophers warm up, Holtz paces the sidelines, scribbling notes to himself. Every move is programmed to avoid wasting time in the workout.

Holtz wants to push the right button in his players` minds so they won`t get uptight about the nationally televised clash with the Buckeyes. Minnesota has just been ranked No. 20 in both wire-service polls and this resurgent team has something to prove to itself, as well as to a homecoming crowd in the Metrodome.

''Remember, you guys,'' Holtz barks. ''This is the most important game you`ll play this week.''

The tension is broken by another of those famous Holtz one-liners. The Gophers chuckle, relax and go to work. Now that they`re regaining football credibility, Holtz keeps the spotlight on his team by saving the gags for the right spot.

''I had no intention of coming here to coach,'' Holtz says. ''I turned down four or five offers, but the Minnesota people seemed so desolate about their football team. I felt at ease with them, and I knew they`d respond when we started to win a few games.''

Even though the Gophers were a modest 4-7 last season in Holtz`s first year, Minnesotans bought his message of hope. Metrodome season ticket sales spurted from 24,417 in 1983, when a 1-10 record got coach Joe Salem fired, to 33,050 at the dawn of the Holtz era and up to 50,085 this year. At $13 for the top tickets in the 62,200-seat indoor arena, that`s big money.

Nobody is sure exactly how the Holtz blend of comedy, pop psychology and old-fashioned revivalism works. Regardless, the bespectacled, sandy-haired coach has left his imprint at every stop in a dynamic career.

Holtz made things happen here in a hurry, jolting the stoic Northlanders out of their lethargy. Football was on the critical list when Dr. Holtz showed up in December, 1983, offering a miracle cure. First, he spread an epidemic of enthusiasm among fans via a media blitz and a barrage of corny but effective promotions, like the Lou Holtz Lookalike Contest. The Gophers swigged a massive dose of his confidence, jumped up and started knocking opponents down. They`ve won five of six starts this season and share first place in the Big 10 with Iowa, the nation`s top-ranked team.
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''I`m not being humble,'' Holtz insists. ''If there has been a turnaround, it belongs to the people in this state. Give `em something to be proud of and the enthusiasm comes out naturally.''

It also comes out expensively. In an amazingly short time, Holtz has overseen the construction of a $5.5 million facility for the Gopher football team. Insiders report that well-heeled Minnesota alumni like envelope tycoon Harvey Mackay privately assured Holtz that donations for the project would be plentiful.

The football complex, promptly labeled ''the Taj-maHoltz,'' has an indoor practice field with artificial turf and a 55-foot roof, plus locker, training, weight, film and meeting rooms. A players` lounge, stocked with footballs from memorable Minnesota victories, adjoins plush offices for Holtz and his staff. The motif is maroon and gold, and the prevailing spirit is enhanced by hand-painted symbols like the Little Brown Jug that adorn walls, hallways and entrances.

''I had a general idea of what we wanted,'' says Holtz, who masterminded the entire layout down to the last nail. ''When I got here, there was no weight room and no meeting room big enough to hold the entire team. My feeling was, Let`s build a solid facility with a 25-year plan to meet our needs.'
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''You can sell Minnesota better than anyplace in the country if you do it as a 40-year career opportunity,'' the coach replies. ''This area opens windows to unlimited job potential, theater, opera, outdoor living and pro sports. Our players` grade-point averages have gone up under a new academic counseling program, and one of my priorities is a degree for all of them.''

There`s more to surviving in the cutthroat world of big-time athletics than talk, a reality the 48-year-old Holtz understands. He`s now in a battle of wills with some Minnesota players, exhorting them to pay the price for moving from Big 10 doormats to contenders.

''A coach has to walk a thin line between winning and commitment to people,'' Holtz says after urging sophomore Courtney Holmes to switch to fullback. ''Courtney needs to explode. We have to find the proper way to get it out of him.''

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go4rob said:

Believe it or not, we had over 50K fans at the Spring Game!! Holtz had the entire State talking Gopher football. He had a "wish list" which could have kept him in Minnesota. From what I heard he wanted an Athletic Dormitory to house only athletes. We also had on the docket a spot for him to be the replacement A.D. to Paul Giel. According to Sid, Lou was all set to stay, had a meeting set up with then President C. Peter McGrath, and McGrath made Holtz wait over 30 minutes until meeting with him...Holtz was fuming, all this according to Sid. I can remember going to a Goal Line Club meeting about 4 month after Holtz's departure and Giel told us that he wanted to the Football program to "seek its own level". You can't make this up. You could almost sense a collective sigh of relief from the Athletic Dept. and the U of M Administration, when Holtz left. All of the marketing, the hoop-la, the Gopher gear that was being carried by Dayton's and other major retailers......all of that was coming from Holtz and NOT the marking folks at the U. The U was simply in Holtz's way. When he left, they could finally get back to "business as usual" which meant, "let's stay under the radar so nobody notices us". Even today, when I go into retail stores and I see college shirts and jackets and the like, and I see Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and others, but NO Gopher stuff...and I ask the store managers why. They invariably say that the University has licensing policies unlike the other schools, which make it next to impossible to carry their gear. Very typical of the U. Having sat on the Goal Line Club Board of Directors in the past, I can tell you that just about every new idea that was presented was followed by a "we can't do that" response from the representatives of the athletic dept. That is their first response to everything. Enough of my rant!

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go4rob said:

Believe it or not, we had over 50K fans at the Spring Game!! Holtz had the entire State talking Gopher football. He had a "wish list" which could have kept him in Minnesota. From what I heard he wanted an Athletic Dormitory to house only athletes. We also had on the docket a spot for him to be the replacement A.D. to Paul Giel. According to Sid, Lou was all set to stay, had a meeting set up with then President C. Peter McGrath, and McGrath made Holtz wait over 30 minutes until meeting with him...Holtz was fuming, all this according to Sid. I can remember going to a Goal Line Club meeting about 4 month after Holtz's departure and Giel told us that he wanted to the Football program to "seek its own level". You can't make this up. You could almost sense a collective sigh of relief from the Athletic Dept. and the U of M Administration, when Holtz left. All of the marketing, the hoop-la, the Gopher gear that was being carried by Dayton's and other major retailers......all of that was coming from Holtz and NOT the marking folks at the U. The U was simply in Holtz's way. When he left, they could finally get back to "business as usual" which meant, "let's stay under the radar so nobody notices us". Even today, when I go into retail stores and I see college shirts and jackets and the like, and I see Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and others, but NO Gopher stuff...and I ask the store managers why. They invariably say that the University has licensing policies unlike the other schools, which make it next to impossible to carry their gear. Very typical of the U. Having sat on the Goal Line Club Board of Directors in the past, I can tell you that just about every new idea that was presented was followed by a "we can't do that" response from the representatives of the athletic dept. That is their first response to everything. Enough of my rant!

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go4rob said:

Believe it or not, we had over 50K fans at the Spring Game!! Holtz had the entire State talking Gopher football. He had a "wish list" which could have kept him in Minnesota. From what I heard he wanted an Athletic Dormitory to house only athletes. We also had on the docket a spot for him to be the replacement A.D. to Paul Giel. According to Sid, Lou was all set to stay, had a meeting set up with then President C. Peter McGrath, and McGrath made Holtz wait over 30 minutes until meeting with him...Holtz was fuming, all this according to Sid. I can remember going to a Goal Line Club meeting about 4 month after Holtz's departure and Giel told us that he wanted to the Football program to "seek its own level". You can't make this up. You could almost sense a collective sigh of relief from the Athletic Dept. and the U of M Administration, when Holtz left. All of the marketing, the hoop-la, the Gopher gear that was being carried by Dayton's and other major retailers......all of that was coming from Holtz and NOT the marking folks at the U. The U was simply in Holtz's way. When he left, they could finally get back to "business as usual" which meant, "let's stay under the radar so nobody notices us". Even today, when I go into retail stores and I see college shirts and jackets and the like, and I see Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and others, but NO Gopher stuff...and I ask the store managers why. They invariably say that the University has licensing policies unlike the other schools, which make it next to impossible to carry their gear. Very typical of the U. Having sat on the Goal Line Club Board of Directors in the past, I can tell you that just about every new idea that was presented was followed by a "we can't do that" response from the representatives of the athletic dept. That is their first response to everything. Enough of my rant!

Click to expand...

go4rob said:

Believe it or not, we had over 50K fans at the Spring Game!! Holtz had the entire State talking Gopher football. He had a "wish list" which could have kept him in Minnesota. From what I heard he wanted an Athletic Dormitory to house only athletes. We also had on the docket a spot for him to be the replacement A.D. to Paul Giel. According to Sid, Lou was all set to stay, had a meeting set up with then President C. Peter McGrath, and McGrath made Holtz wait over 30 minutes until meeting with him...Holtz was fuming, all this according to Sid. I can remember going to a Goal Line Club meeting about 4 month after Holtz's departure and Giel told us that he wanted to the Football program to "seek its own level". You can't make this up. You could almost sense a collective sigh of relief from the Athletic Dept. and the U of M Administration, when Holtz left. All of the marketing, the hoop-la, the Gopher gear that was being carried by Dayton's and other major retailers......all of that was coming from Holtz and NOT the marking folks at the U. The U was simply in Holtz's way. When he left, they could finally get back to "business as usual" which meant, "let's stay under the radar so nobody notices us". Even today, when I go into retail stores and I see college shirts and jackets and the like, and I see Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and others, but NO Gopher stuff...and I ask the store managers why. They invariably say that the University has licensing policies unlike the other schools, which make it next to impossible to carry their gear. Very typical of the U. Having sat on the Goal Line Club Board of Directors in the past, I can tell you that just about every new idea that was presented was followed by a "we can't do that" response from the representatives of the athletic dept. That is their first response to everything. Enough of my rant!

Click to expand...

go4rob said:

Believe it or not, we had over 50K fans at the Spring Game!! Holtz had the entire State talking Gopher football. He had a "wish list" which could have kept him in Minnesota. From what I heard he wanted an Athletic Dormitory to house only athletes. We also had on the docket a spot for him to be the replacement A.D. to Paul Giel. According to Sid, Lou was all set to stay, had a meeting set up with then President C. Peter McGrath, and McGrath made Holtz wait over 30 minutes until meeting with him...Holtz was fuming, all this according to Sid. I can remember going to a Goal Line Club meeting about 4 month after Holtz's departure and Giel told us that he wanted to the Football program to "seek its own level". You can't make this up. You could almost sense a collective sigh of relief from the Athletic Dept. and the U of M Administration, when Holtz left. All of the marketing, the hoop-la, the Gopher gear that was being carried by Dayton's and other major retailers......all of that was coming from Holtz and NOT the marking folks at the U. The U was simply in Holtz's way. When he left, they could finally get back to "business as usual" which meant, "let's stay under the radar so nobody notices us". Even today, when I go into retail stores and I see college shirts and jackets and the like, and I see Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and others, but NO Gopher stuff...and I ask the store managers why. They invariably say that the University has licensing policies unlike the other schools, which make it next to impossible to carry their gear. Very typical of the U. Having sat on the Goal Line Club Board of Directors in the past, I can tell you that just about every new idea that was presented was followed by a "we can't do that" response from the representatives of the athletic dept. That is their first response to everything. Enough of my rant!

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Gopho Sapiens said:

It was an incredibly exciting time. Him leaving was sad. Him taking all the progress with him, that we had paid for, was angering.

Him leaving his bag man Luther Danville behind to take the heat was cowardice on his part and an embarrassment for the U.

That's what i remember.

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go4rob said:

Believe it or not, we had over 50K fans at the Spring Game!! Holtz had the entire State talking Gopher football. He had a "wish list" which could have kept him in Minnesota. From what I heard he wanted an Athletic Dormitory to house only athletes. We also had on the docket a spot for him to be the replacement A.D. to Paul Giel. According to Sid, Lou was all set to stay, had a meeting set up with then President C. Peter McGrath, and McGrath made Holtz wait over 30 minutes until meeting with him...Holtz was fuming, all this according to Sid. I can remember going to a Goal Line Club meeting about 4 month after Holtz's departure and Giel told us that he wanted to the Football program to "seek its own level". You can't make this up. You could almost sense a collective sigh of relief from the Athletic Dept. and the U of M Administration, when Holtz left. All of the marketing, the hoop-la, the Gopher gear that was being carried by Dayton's and other major retailers......all of that was coming from Holtz and NOT the marking folks at the U. The U was simply in Holtz's way. When he left, they could finally get back to "business as usual" which meant, "let's stay under the radar so nobody notices us". Even today, when I go into retail stores and I see college shirts and jackets and the like, and I see Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and others, but NO Gopher stuff...and I ask the store managers why. They invariably say that the University has licensing policies unlike the other schools, which make it next to impossible to carry their gear. Very typical of the U. Having sat on the Goal Line Club Board of Directors in the past, I can tell you that just about every new idea that was presented was followed by a "we can't do that" response from the representatives of the athletic dept. That is their first response to everything. Enough of my rant!

Click to expand...

Gopho Sapiens said:

It was an incredibly exciting time. Him leaving was sad. Him taking all the progress with him, that we had paid for, was angering.

Him leaving his bag man Luther Danville behind to take the heat was cowardice on his part and an embarrassment for the U.

That's what i remember.

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A former University of Minnesota official indicted in the disappearance of some $186,000 is believed to have fled the country, authorities say.

County Attorney Tom Johnson announced Wednesday that a grand jury had returned indictments against Luther Darville, who was fired last month by the university’s Office of Minority and Special Student Affairs.

Johnson said authorities believe he is in the Bahamas.

″We will immediately begin pursuing a federal warrant for unlawful flight,″ Johnson said. ″He is from the Bahamas, he has family there.″
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Darville was fired after a university audit showed $186,000 missing from the Office of Minority and Special Student Affairs since 1983. Darville told auditors he had given money to 17 minority students, including nine football players.

Evidence shows Darville used some of the money himself, Johnson said. He said he didn’t know how much of the money was spent on athletes or other students.

One former student athlete, Valdez Earl Baylor, told the Star Tribune that Darville gave him about $5,000 in cash over a six-year period. He said the money was handed to him in envelopes.

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Ignatius L Hoops said:

Luther Darville

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Tredwell said:

Remember the two Holtz years fondly. Year one they were respectable and ended the year beating Iowa. Never heard the dome so loud.

Year two the near miss against Oklahoma as others have mentioned...team got a great ovation as they left the field. But they were 5-1 and ranked 20th and hosting #9 Ohio State. Down late in the fourth, the Gophers were driving for the win. Foggie gets hurt on third down and leaves the game. Backup Alan Holt comes in on 4th and short and gets stuffed. 23-19 loss. That hurt.

Love this clip from 1985...go to 3:57

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Tredwell said:

Remember the two Holtz years fondly. Year one they were respectable and ended the year beating Iowa. Never heard the dome so loud.

Year two the near miss against Oklahoma as others have mentioned...team got a great ovation as they left the field. But they were 5-1 and ranked 20th and hosting #9 Ohio State. Down late in the fourth, the Gophers were driving for the win. Foggie gets hurt on third down and leaves the game. Backup Alan Holt comes in on 4th and short and gets stuffed. 23-19 loss. That hurt.

Love this clip from 1985...go to 3:57

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stocker08 said:

Silly. The Target by my house has had a Gophers display directly inside the entrance for the past couple of years. Kohls always has a ridiculous amount of Gophers gear.

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