Bo Schembechler Switches Sports, Joins Tigers

Confirming earlier reports, Bo Schembechler switched sports Monday and was named president and chief operating officer of the Detroit Tigers. Schembechler retired as football coach of the University of Michigan after the Rose Bowl.

“Football and baseball, it’s all competition,” said Schembechler, who will be responsible for the daily operations of the club. “It can’t be too much different from what I was doing at Michigan. I’m a reasonably intelligent guy.”

Schembechler, 60, who ended a 27-year football career last week as the fifth-winningest Division I-A coach in history with a 234-65-8 record, replaced Jim Campbell, who moved up to chairman of the board. John E. Fetzer, the former board chairman, was named chairman emeritus.

To take the Detroit job, Schembechler took a leave of absence as athletic director at Michigan, a post he held in addition to his coaching job. Jack Weidenbach, senior associate athletic director, was named interim athletic director.