BALTIMORE– Lou Holtz, coach, author and ESPN analyst, will be the keynote speaker for the 2010 US Lacrosse National Convention, presented by Champion. The convention will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center, January 15-17, 2010. The annual convention is the largest educational and networking opportunity for lacrosse coaches and officials in the world. Coach Holtz will address the 2010 US Lacrosse National Convention on Friday, January 15 at 6:30 p.m.

"I am excited to address the US Lacrosse National Convention as it is the fastest growing sport in the country," said Coach Holtz. "I have the greatest respect for coaches as I know the sacrifices they, and their families, make in order to help their athletes be successful. Coaching is coaching, regardless of the sport, and I am anxious to share my philosophy and beliefs with the audience."

Coach Holtz will speak on overcoming seemingly impossible challenges by setting goals and working to achieve them. His message transcends all sports. The focus is on people and the values that make relationships and teams excel.

"US Lacrosse is truly excited to welcome Lou Holtz as the keynote speaker for our convention," said Steve Stenersen, president and CEO of US Lacrosse, the Baltimore-based national governing body of the sport. "His philosophy of working hard, coaching with passion and sharing his story has made a tremendous impact on sports fans everywhere. Holtz’s message of overcoming tremendous challenges will certainly resonate with lacrosse coaches and officials who work tirelessly to grow the sport of lacrosse from the grassroots."

Lou Holtz is most known for his illustrious football coaching career. Before becoming the head coach at Notre Dame, he served two seasons at Minnesota (1984-85), seven at Arkansas (1977-83), four at North Carolina State (1972-75) and three at William & Mary (1969-71). He spent the 1976 season as head coach of the New York Jets of the National Football League.

After his departure from Notre Dame following the 1996 season, he joined CBS Sports’ College Football Today for two seasons as a sports analyst. From there he went on to be head coach at the University of South Carolina for six seasons from 1999-2004 where he led the Gamecocks to back-to-back New Year’s Day bowl games for the first time in the history of the school and defeated Ohio State in consecutive bowl appearances.

Despite never inheriting a winning team, Holtz compiled a 243-127-7 career record that ranked him third in victories among active coaches and eighth in winning percentage. His 12 career postseason bowl victories ranked him fifth on the all-time list. He is the only coach in the history of college football to take six different teams to a bowl game, win five bowl games with different teams, and to have four different college teams ranked in the final Top 20 poll. Holtz was selected for the College Football Hall of Fame, class of 2008.

Currently, Holtz serves as a college football studio analyst on ESPN. He appears on ESPNEWS', ESPN College GameDay programs, SportsCenter and is serving as an on site analyst for college football games. Holtz has also authored three New York Times best-selling books: The Fighting Spirit that chronicled Notre Dame's 1988 national championship season and Winning Everyday: A Game Plan For Success (August 1998), which has been published in several languages. His latest book which was released August 15, 2006 is Wins, Losses and Lessons, an autobiography of his life and the lessons he has learned, and is also a best seller.

In addition to Holtz, several prominent lacrosse coaches will also be speaking at the 2010 US Lacrosse National Convention, including: Mike Pressler (U.S. men’s national team head coach/Bryant men’s head coach), Joe Alberici (U.S. men’s national team asst. coach/Army men’s head coach), Tony Resch (U.S. men’s national team asst. coach/Long Island Lizards head coach), Rick Sowell (U.S. men’s national team asst. coach/Stony Brook men’s head coach), Ricky Fried (U.S. women’s elite team head coach/Georgetown women’s head coach), Carole Cantele (U.S. women’s developmental team head coach/Gettysburg women’s head coach), Jenny Levy (University of North Carolina women’s head coach), Liz Robertshaw (U.S. women’s elite team asst. coach/Boston University women’s head coach) and many more.

Over 5,000 coaches, officials and lacrosse enthusiasts are expected to descend on Baltimore in January. Registration for the 2010 US Lacrosse National Convention is open on US Lacrosse’s website, www.uslacrosse.org/convention. Those who register before November 15 will get an early bird discount of half off the regular on-site registration fee of $150.

US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, is the national governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse. US Lacrosse has more than 300,000 members in 62 regional chapters around the country. Through responsive and effective leadership, US Lacrosse strives to provide programs and services to inspire participation while protecting the integrity of the game. To learn more about US Lacrosse, please visit www.uslacrosse.org.