Julius Holt, a former Arizona Wildcats football standout and longtime UA athletic department employee, youth football coach and commissioner, died overnight following a brief illness.
He was 60.
A defensive lineman, Holt played the 1981 and ’82 seasons on coach Larry Smith’s UA teams — a time in which the Wildcats beat No. 1 USC, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 ASU and previously undefeated Notre Dame. Holt, who made 135 tackles for the Wildcats, tried out for the USFL after college, but did not play professionally.
Julius Holt
Instead, Holt worked as a counselor for troubled teens, living in the middle of the Arizona desert in a tepee; worked in a group home; and was a Child Protective Services caseworker. Holt could connect with the children he worked with. Holt grew up in hardscrabble Washington D.C.; his father, Bernard, and mother, Mary, both died before he was 10, leaving behind 10 children. Holt was raised by his older brothers.
"That kind of experience wasn't new to me; I know the difference between heaven and hell, because I grew up in hell," told the Star’s Greg Hansen in 2004.
Julie Holt, right, worked at a Child Protective Services caseworker before joining the UA athletic department as an academic counselor.
Holt re-enrolled at the UA as an adult, and went on to earn both undergraduate and master’s degrees. UA athletic director Jim Livengood hired Holt as an academic counselor and tutoring director in 1997, a position he held until 2006, when he left to become director of counseling for an alternative high school in Casa Grande.
Holt was constantly involved in football, spending more than 30 years as a youth coach and executive. In 2018, he was named commissioner of the Tucson Youth Football and Spirit Federation. There, he oversaw thousands of kids ages 5 through 13 in flag and tackle football and cheerleading.
In 2019, Holt was inducted into the American Youth Football and Cheer Hall of Fame.
Julius Holt, center, spent more than 30 years as a youth football coach and executive.
One TYFSF association, the Southwest Rams, posted Monday: “We are in utter disbelief, and the Tucson football community as a whole is in mourning. May you all find comfort in knowing that during his lifetime he made such a huge impact on the next generation of athletes (and) community leaders. Our future is a little brighter because of Julius.”
UA football coach Jedd Fisch wrote Monday that he is: "Sending Condolences and Prayers to one of our own today. Julius Holt impacted many at the University, in our Football community, and members of our staff. RIP."
In 2016, Holt’s football life came full-circle. His son, Justin, a star defensive lineman at Salpointe Catholic High School, signed to play for the Wildcats. The UA issued the younger Holt the same jersey number — 50 — as his father. At the time, Juilus Holt called it “a dream come true for my whole entire family.”
"I remember taking Justin when he was 5 years old, 6 years old, running around the U of A," Holt said. "He's been around a lot of U of A legends, a lot of U of A players, and he knows what it takes. He will put himself in position to compete for a job, and I think he's up to the task."
Holt is survived by his wife Lisa, son Justin and daughter Julia, a Canyon del Oro High School senior who recently committed to play softball at Howard University in her father's hometown.
Services are pending.
