COLUMBUS, OHIO ? What began as a day filled with football talk and parties across Ohio State’s campus quickly turned somber.

Former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, one of the most celebrated names in college football, died after he collapsed in a TV studio the day before the No. 1 Buckeyes were to host their storied rival.

Schembechler was an assistant coach at Ohio State from 1958 to 1962 under legendary Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes. The two remained friends through years of bitterly fought games.

Former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce, who succeeded Hayes, spoke Friday at a fundraiser on campus, where people with forlorn faces were stunned at the news.

“The state of Ohio and the state of Michigan has lost a great man, has lost a great coach, and a great dad,” said Bruce, choking back tears as he spoke. “In my opinion, Bo Schembechler is the greatest football coach Michigan ever had.”

Bruce was asked whether Schembechler and Hayes might be looking down on the game together today.

“Well, yeah, but they’ll have different ideas. It’ll be a battle, and neither one will go down easy,” Bruce said.

Schembechler cast a wide shadow over Ohio, where he played football for Miami University and coached the team from 1963 to 1968, when he left for the Michigan job.

Former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin, the only player to win two Heisman Trophies, remembered that Schembechler recruited him before Woody Hayes.

“Bo was a special, special man, and he’s someone whose friendship and camaraderie I treasured,” Griffin said in a statement. “I had the pleasure to develop a relationship with Bo through the years.”