The coach will announce at his weekly news conference today that he's resigning after 11 seasons. Details were completed at a meeting yesterday with athletic director Mike Wadsworth and the Rev. William Beauchamp, the university's executive vice president.
''He met with the administration and told them he's leaving,'' one of two university sources, who spoke on the condition they not be identified, told The Associated Press.
School spokesperson John Heisler declined to confirm Holtz's resignation, saying only he had met with Wadsworth and Beauchamp. Wadsworth declined comment, and Beauchamp was not immediately available.
''They have reached a decision and it will be announced at 1 p.m. (today),'' Heisler said.
Why Holtz, 59, is resigning is not clear, but one possibility is that he wants another shot at the NFL, where he led the New York Jets to a 3-10 record in 1976 before resigning with one game left.
One scenario has him coaching the Minnesota Vikings if current coach Dennis Green leaves.
It was business as usual at Notre Dame's practice yesterday, with Holtz pacing the field and occasionally yelling at players when they did something he didn't like. He refused afterward to confirm his resignation, but he did say the situation is starting to take its toll.
''I will talk about that at the appropriate time and now is not the appropriate time,'' he said. ''Practice went a little longer than I wanted because I was eating Rolaids, and I couldn't call them up.''