Legends of the Hall

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With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. National Football Foundation programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College, the NFL/NFF Coaching Academy, and annual scholarships of nearly $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. Each month American Football Monthly will profile a member of the College Football Hall of Fame – our December coach is ‘Bo’ Schembechler.

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As the winningest coach in Michigan history, Glenn ‘Bo’ Schembechler’s teams won an impressive 13 Big Ten Championships in the 21 years he guided the Wolverines. A total of 17 Michigan teams went to post season bowl games, including 10 Rose Bowls. Equally impressive was the fact that 17 Michigan teams finished the season among the top ten schools in the country. Schembechler’s overall record in Ann Arbor was 194-48-5 and in his 27 years of coaching, his teams never had a losing record.

Born in Barberton, Ohio, Schembechler earned his degree in 1951 from Miami (Ohio). Playing football and baseball at Miami, Schembechler was coached by his mentor, Woody Hayes. After receiving a Master’s Degree at Ohio State, he became an assistant coach at Presbyterian (1954), Bowling Green (1955), and Northwestern (1958) before spending five seasons assisting Hayes in Columbus. In 1963, Schembechler was named head coach at Miami, a position he held until taking over the Michigan program prior to the 1969 campaign.

During the ten years Schembechler’s Wolverines and Hayes’ Buckeyes faced each other, the Big Ten was referred to as the ‘Big 2 and Little 8.’ Schembechler had the edge on his former coach during that decade with a 5-4-1 record. The Wolverines’ win against Ohio State in 1969 is considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of their rivalry. OSU, ranked #1 at the time, lost to Michigan 24-12. He was voted National Coach of the Year that season.

Schembechler was athletic director at Michigan from 1988-1990 and then served as president of the Detroit Tigers from 1990-1992. He was inducted into the Miami University Hall of Fame in 1972, the State of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1992, and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1993. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, as well, in 1993. His overall record as a head coach at both Miami and Michigan was 234-65-8. s

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