Former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler said he believed he might be on the verge of death when he felt ill while taping a television show and was taken to the hospital.

The 77-year-old Schembechler was released from a hospital Oct. 24, one day after a device to help regulate his heartbeat was implanted in his chest.

On Friday, he was back in Southfield to tape the latest edition of the show that previews Michigan and Michigan State football games.

``When I was in the ambulance, I've got to admit, I wasn't so sure ... that I'd make it. I really wasn't,'' Schembechler told The Detroit News. ``I was thinking, `This thing is going to take me.' I snapped back out of that.''

Schembechler was hospitalized after he felt ill Oct. 20 at the taping of ``Big Ten Ticket.''

Schembechler had a heart attack on the eve of his first Rose Bowl in 1970 and another one in 1987. He has had two quadruple heart bypass operations.

The seven-time Big Ten coach of the year compiled a 194-48-5 record at Michigan from 1969-89. Schembechler's record in 26 years of coaching was 234-64-8.