Nantz To Team Up With Fellow Who Inspired Him

This latest TV gig should be no sweat for Lou Holtz.

After all, this little man with a lisp started drawing attention to himself back when he was at Arkansas and had his own coach’s show.

He was far from a household name in those days. But he did catch the eye of Jim Nantz, who was just a college kid back then, playing golf at Houston and tuning in to just about any sports he could find on the tube.

“All the coaches in the Southwest Conference had shows back then. Holtz’s was the best. He would get so wound up. I would always try to watch his,” said Nantz, now with CBS Sports.

In all fairness, Nantz may be a bit biased, since he will be sitting beside Holtz when CBS debuts its college football preview show this month.

But after nearly three decades as a coach, Holtz’s record alone should give him instant credibility in his new role as a college football analyst.

And his personality should add an interesting dynamic to the studio team of the even-keeled Nantz and the indefatigable Craig James, the former Pro-Bowler in his second year as a CBS analyst.

“We think the combination of Nantz and James and Lou Holtz is going to be the most entertaining college football show in the country,” said CBS Sports president Sean McManus.

“Lou’s going to bring a lot of personal expertise. He’s got an amazingly good sense of humor, remarkable insight, and has as much credibility of anybody in the business.”

Peering out from those glasses of his, the slight and frail-looking Holtz looks more like someone who might deliver your mail or sell you insurance. Even his agent, Sandy Montag, said his physical appearance masks his talents.

“Obviously if you look at him, he’s not the best-looking guy on television. He knows that,” Montag said. “But he’s engaging. He’s smart. He’s funny.”

He also is a giant in the field of motivational speakers, earning a national reputation - and respectable living - inspiring workers at some of the country’s biggest companies. He was voted 1996 motivational speaker of the year among sports figures in a survey of 250 speaker’s bureaus.

“He speaks a lot, maybe 75 times a year, to corporations around the country,” Montag said.

Other coaches have failed to make the transition to the studio. McManus said Holtz, who served as a guest analyst during bowl coverage last season, has proven his ability.

“He’s a natural in the studio,” McManus said. “I think most people can tell the moment a person is on camera whether they will make it.”

Holtz said he expects that, like coaching, he’ll have a lot of homework. Finding time will be more difficult than first planned, with his wife’s health taking top priority. She was recently diagnosed with cancer.

On the set, it will be up to Nantz to moderate James and Holtz, who said they expect to butt heads and are looking forward to some lively banter.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Christine Hanley Associated Press