Ann Arbor resident Ralph Hale stops at a makeshift memorial for former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, who died Friday on the eve of Michigan's game against Ohio State.

Ann Arbor, Mich. ? It probably was hard for Bo Schembechler to sit in a sophomore-level class called Systematic Thinking About Problems of the Day and not get involved in the discussion.

But day after day this semester, the feisty old coach who always had an opinion would take a seat and listen to discussions about the electoral college, the propriety of downloading music from the Internet and the impact of globalization on the U.S. economy.

“That he was part of the university really meant a lot to him,” said Paul Courant, the professor and former provost at the University of Michigan.

Even though he had not coached a game since 1990, Schembechler’s fiery presence was always felt across the Ann Arbor campus, where his death on Friday cast a gloomy shadow on the eve of one of the biggest football games in university history.

To many, it seemed like Schembechler was always around, and that he always would be. He spoke to freshmen athletes, telling them about the responsibilities that came with wearing a Michigan uniform. He gave pep talks to the football team. He used his iconic status to help raise money, recently at the newly built Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Schembechler took Public Policy 201 because of his interest in current issues, Courant said, and he attended consistently. He didn’t talk because he preferred to listen to the students.