In memoriam- Bo Schembechler (1929-2006)

As the winningest head coach in Michigan football history, Bo's teams won or tied an impressive 13 Big Ten titles during his 21 year tenure. (Photos of Bo's career). Under Schembechler's guidance, Michigan's 96-10-3 regular season record through the decade of the 1970s was the nation's best. He guided 17 teams to post-season bowl games (Ten Rose Bowls) and also 17 to top ten finishes in the final wire service polls (AP and/or UPI). In his 27 years of coaching, Schembechler's teams never had a losing season. Upon stepping down after the 1989 season, Bo retired as the winningest active coach in the nation (234-65-8) and fifth on the all-time list, only behind coaching legends Paul 'Bear' Bryant, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Glen 'Pop' Warner, and Woody Hayes. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Schembechler served as Michigan's Director of Athletics, 1988-1990.
After earning his diploma from Miami (Ohio) University in 1951, Schembechler received his master's degree from Ohio State in 1952 while serving as a graduate assistant coach. He continued his coaching career with brief stints as an assistant at Presbyterian College (1954), Bowling Green (1955) and Northwestern (1958) before spending five seasons as an assistant at Ohio State. In 1963, Schembechler was named head coach at Miami of Ohio, a position he held until taking over the Michigan program prior to the 1969 campaign. Go Blue!

*Note: Photo of Coach Schembechler conferring on the sidelines with QB Rick Leach (7) on the sidelines during the Purdue game in 1978 from the Bentley Historical Library, U-M.