Fast Break

Schembechler dies at age 77

In the end, Michigan vs. Ohio State may have been too much for Bo Schembechler’s failing heart.

The man with half-century-old roots to The Game died at age 77 Friday on the eve of perhaps the biggest matchup in the storied rivalry’s history, No 1 vs. No. 2, and his doctor said it might have been because of all the excitement.

Schembechler, who became one of college football’s great coaches in two decades at Michigan, collapsed at the studios of WXYZ-TV in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, where he taped a weekly show. He was pronounced dead a little more than two hours later at nearby Providence Hospital.

Replacing Bo

Emotional Carr laments loss

This year’s Michigan players, who were toddlers when Schembechler’s career was winding down in the late 1980s, were somber Friday afternoon as they left the building that bears his name and boarded buses for the drive to Columbus, Ohio.

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who was hired by Schembechler in 1980, wiped a tear off his cheek as he sat in the front row of the first bus.

“We have lost a giant at Michigan and in college football,” Carr said in a statement. “There was never a greater ambassador for the University of Michigan, or college football, than Bo. Personally, I have lost a man I love.”

Goodbye Bo

Coaching giants remember legend

“”He was just fun to be around and you just couldn’t help but come away inspired because he just had a great way about him. Somebody said, ‘How would you describe him?’ He was his own man.”

Lou Holtz

“”I really had great admiration for Bo. He was such a straight guy. You always knew where you stood with him. He was direct and honest, a genuine football man. He coached the way you are supposed to play the game, which is hard-nosed.”

Tom Osborne

“”It’s hard to lose a great friend like that and a great contributor to college football. He was just a real giant in the game.”

LaVell Edwards