Lou Holtz’s Orlando mansion, once struck by lightning, hits the market
Lou Holtz’s Orlando home has seen its fair share of action. The 11,000-square-foot mansion was struck by lightning in 2015, resulting in a raging fire that took 60 firefighters roughly three hours to put out.
After an interior overhaul, the renovated home has come up for sale at $4.5 million — a steep hike from the $254,000 the college football legend paid for the property when it was an empty plot of land back in 1997.
Found in the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club community, the estate is entered by a circular driveway that winds through the landscaped grounds. One path leads to a three-car garage and golf cart garage, and the other approaches the dramatic entry to the two-story home.
Inside, traditional spaces such as a stylish kitchen under wood-coffered ceilings mix with custom rooms such as the “Walkway of Fame” lined with memorabilia and a trophy rotunda. (In addition to winning two college national championships, Holtz was twice named the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year.)
Other highlights include a smoking room with an air purification system and a billiards room with a wet bar. An elevator navigates the interior, accessing a bedroom wing with custom ceilings, electronic shades and French doors that open to the pool deck. It’s one of six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms.
Pocket doors open outside, where wood ceilings top a spacious lanai with a fireplace and grill. Past that, there’s a screened-in swimming pool and spa. The estate spans just over an acre.
Peter Luu of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty holds the listing.
Holtz, 83, is the only coach in college football history to lead six different programs to bowl games, and he also led Notre Dame to an undefeated season and national title in 1988. After coaching, he joined ESPN as a college football analyst and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
