Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, a West Virginia native and Donald Trump devotee, will keynote the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce's annual convention at the end of the month.
The convention, held each year at The Greenbrier resort, is an opportunity for the state's top business leaders, politicians and lobbyists to mingle and network.
Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito both are scheduled to speak right before Holtz, on the second day of the three-day event.
Both major party candidates for governor, Republican Bill Cole and Democrat Jim Justice (who owns The Greenbrier), have been invited to speak.
Absent from this year's agenda is Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, who has spoken at recent Chamber of Commerce meetings.
The Chamber's political giving tilted heavily toward Republicans in most 2014 elections, as have the keynote speakers at its conventions.
Major speakers at recent Chamber of Commerce conventions have included former Vice President Dick Cheney, conservative economist Arthur Laffer and Fox News anchor Bret Baier.
The 2014 convention also featured debate-like discussions between congressional candidates and Senate candidates. No such events are scheduled this year, although all three Republican incumbent congressmen have been invited to speak.
Holtz, the keynote speaker, was born in Follansbee, and went on to become the head football coach at six different Division 1 schools. He coached the NFL's New York Jets for a little less than one season, resigning with one game left in 1976.
Most famously, he coached Notre Dame for 11 years in the 1980s and '90s, winning the national championship in 1988. He also served as a college football analyst at ESPN for more than 10 years.
Holtz endorsed Trump in May, in the days before the Indiana primary, citing the quality of Trump's resorts.
"I have played his golf course and stayed in his hotel," Holtz said at the time. "He does nothing but go first class on everything. He wants his country to be first class as well."
More recently, during the Republican National Convention, Holtz said that the number of immigrants entering the United States constituted an "invasion" and said immigrants need to assimilate better.
"I don't want to become you," he said, according to the news site The Daily Beast. "I don't want to speak your language, I don't want to celebrate your holidays, I sure as hell don't want to cheer for your soccer team!"
Others scheduled to speak at the Chamber of Commerce convention, Aug. 31 through Sept. 2, include Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Supreme Court Justice-elect Beth Walker (whose campaign received significant financial help from the Chamber), West Virginia University President Gordon Gee and the leadership of the state Legislature.
Reach David Gutman at david.gutman@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5119 or follow @davidlgutman on Twitter.