COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Lou Holtz won't come out and say he's not interested in returning to Notre Dame, but his South Carolina players are certain the 64-year-old coach will stay with them.

Holtz gathered his team around him before Outback Bowl workouts Tuesday and told them he was a Gamecock and wanted to build a championship team at South Carolina, members of the team said.

In the mind of defensive lineman John Stamper, that closed any chance Holtz might have returned to his old school.

"Coach Holtz made a commitment to us and to the university," Stamper said. "When he says something, you can take that to the bank."

"He told us that he's a Gamecock right now," tailback-wide receiver Ryan Brewer said. "He believes he can win a championship here and we haven't done that yet."

Holtz's future suddenly came into play Saturday when Notre Dame contacted him in what the coach said was an advisory role in the Fighting Irish's coaching search.

"The call strictly was Notre Dame asking for advice," Holtz said after the call was first reported Monday in The South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.

Kerry Tharp, South Carolina's spokesman, said Holtz was not in Notre Dame's mix. Tharp said Notre Dame officials have not asked for permission to speak with Holtz and nothing changed Tuesday.

The one thing missing so far is a flat-out statement from Holtz that he won't return to the school he led to the 1988 national championship and worked at for 11 high-profile seasons.

Holtz has not met with the media since the reports broke. His next public appearance is an Outback Bowl function Wednesday.

But none of that worries the Gamecocks, who say their coach has always played it straight with them and is doing so now.

Holtz told them he wanted to bring a title to the Gamecocks and that the job here was not complete, center Larrell Johnson said.

"When he said that, it eliminated the question in my mind about him going back to Notre Dame," Johnson said.

The Notre Dame job came open when George O'Leary resigned last week after just five days on the job, admitting he lied on his resume about academic and athletic achievements. The former Georgia Tech coach had been hired Dec. 9 to replace the fired Bob Davie.