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'Those who stay will be champions' Nov. 21: Dan Dierdorf speaks at the memorial for Bo Schembechler at Michigan Stadium on Tuesday.

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updated 10:50 a.m. ET Nov. 22, 2006

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - A football was nowhere to be found, though that didn’t stop about 15,000 people from sitting in Michigan Stadium to honor Bo Schembechler on Tuesday.

Michigan football greats from Desmond Howard to Dan Dierdorf passed through the tunnel and onto the field and many former players jumped to slap the “GO BLUE” banner as they did when they played.

Many that never met Schembechler showed up, too, in a fitting venue for the tribute.

“On a cold November day in this great, old stadium, there’s no game today,” Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr said. “But all of you are here because of what he was.”

Several speakers recounted stories about the fiery coach, who also had a sense of humor, from a stage that was set up along the sideline that Schembechler roamed from 1969-89.

The crowd that filled many of the rows between the end zones on one side of the storied stadium often laughed at the anecdotes shared by university officials, former players, assistants and coaching colleagues.

But there were also reminders that this was a memorial as much as a celebration about a man who died Friday at 77, ending a long battle with heart disease and diabetes, the day before his beloved Michigan was beaten by rival Ohio State 42-39.

Former running back Jamie Morris paused to regain his composure from the podium and Schembechler’s son, Shemy, broke down a few times while making his comments toward the end of the 2½-hour event. When “A Celebration of Bo’s Life” closed with highlights from Schembechler’s career on the video boards, his wife, Cathy, covered her face with her hands and wept.

It was like a football Saturday in Ann Arbor, except it was a different day of the week and those sitting in the Big House were mourning Schembechler instead of cheering for him.

The band pounded out the famous fight song “The Victors” and the national anthem preceded the afternoon event.

“He told me many times, ‘Football should be played in the afternoons,”’ recalled Jim Brandstatter, a former player and the master of ceremonies. “He would not stand for a 3:30 start or an 8 o’clock start. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, toe meets leather at 1:14 exactly.”

Most of the speakers made some reference to Schembechler being a “Michigan man” and Carr recalled a story that perhaps best illustrated that moniker.

Schembechler had a staff meeting at his house in the early 1980s, when Texas A&M made him an offer to be the highest-paid coach in college football, and he wanted to know what his assistants thought about the opportunity.

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“The staff was divided about whether to go and whether to stay,” Carr recalled. “At the end of the meeting, with a tear in his eye and a crack in his voice, he said, ’Yes, but you don’t have to tell those players you’re leaving.”’

The day before he died, Schembechler addressed the current Wolverines.

“He told our team, ‘You’re going to go out and do a lot of great things in your life, but you are never going to have the great experiences you’ve had at Michigan,”’ Carr recalled.

Schembechler coached at Michigan for two decades, ending his career with 194 wins at what is college football’s winningest program. His career record was 234-65-8, including six seasons at Miami of Ohio, and had all of that success without even rumors of NCAA infractions.

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