Former Ohio State assistant football coach and associate athletic director Bill Myles died Tuesday morning, the university's athletic department confirmed.
A cause of death was not available, but Myles, 83, had been in declining health. He suffered a massive stroke in 2014.
Myles was one of Ohio State's first African-American coaches and served at OSU for more than four decades, starting when Woody Hayes hired him away from Nebraska as an offensive line coach in 1977.
When Earle Bruce replaced the fired Hayes after the 1978 season, Myles and Glen Mason were the only assistant coaches Bruce retained. Myles later became an associate athletic director, overseeing football and basketball as well as the expansion of women's sports under Title IX. Myles helped lead the coaching search that led to the hiring of John Cooper after the 1987 season.
In 1995 under athletic director Andy Geiger, Myles created Ohio State's outreach program designed for athletes who hadn't graduated to return to complete their degrees.
"No one was reaching out to these guys, so I thought it would be a good idea to establish a program that would bring them back," Myles told the Call & Post in 2007. "It was a win-win for everyone the athlete and the school. It's one of the things I'm proudest of in my time here."
Myles grew up in Kansas City and played football at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Tom Osborne hired him as an assistant coach at Nebraska, where he coached until Hayes lured him away. He retired from OSU in 2008, though he remained close with the program.
Myles is survived by his wife, Lorita. He was the father of two children, Debbie and Bill.
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"My condolences to Lorita and the Myles family," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told The Dispatch. "Bill's impact on student-athletes and coaches was immeasurable.
"My first introduction to Bill was when he was an assistant coach at Nebraska and he recruited me. To come full circle and have an opportunity to work with him at OSU was truly a blessing. Our hearts are filled with sadness. Bill will be missed."
