EAST LANSING - The Michigan State football community today is mourning the loss of one its greats.

Henry Bullough, the patriarch of the first family of Michigan State football, passed away Sunday. He was 85.

No one can match the depth of his times at Michigan State. Bullough played for a National Championship team, he was defensive coordinator for two Michigan State National Championship teams. He had a son play for the 1987 Rose Bowl championship team, and grandsons play for MSU's 2013 Rose Bowl and '14 Cotton Bowl teams.

Bullough retired in East Lansing in the late 1990s and was a fixture at Michigan State athletic events, practices, coaches' radio shows, and anywhere Spartan people congregated.

Bullough sought to educate sportswriters, young and old, on the magnitude of Michigan State's 1966 Game of the Century match-up against Notre Dame, boasting about the number of future NFL players that were on the field that day on Nov. 19, 1966, and the record number of credentialed media in the press box.

Bullough was a fierce advocate for scholarship athletes to have the opportunity to attend college and be given "the right to try," as he called it.

In retirement, he worked to help former Michigan State players remain in contact with one another after their college days.

“Hank lived and breathed green and white,” Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio said in a statement released by the university, Monday. “Michigan State has lost a great Spartan and the game of football has lost a coaching legend.”

Bullough was a three-year letter winner at Michigan State from 1952-54. He was an assistant coach at Michigan State from 1959-69 and came back for one year as defensive coordinator for George Perles in 1994.

He was a lineman for MSU’s National Championship team in 1952 and was an assistant coach for MSU’s National Championship teams in 1965 and ’66.

He was an assistant coach for the Baltimore Colts in 1970, winners of Super Bowl V.

“I met Hank the first day I came to Michigan State as an assistant coach in 1995, when he was leaving as the defensive coordinator under Coach Perles,” Dantonio said. “He made an immediate impact on me. I had the honor of coaching three of his grandsons in Max, Riley and Byron over a period of nine seasons, and his son Chuck is currently on our staff.”

As a coach, he was the first to bring the 3-4 defense to the NFL.

When Dick LeBeau was credited with inventing the zone blitz in the early '90s, LeBeau corrected people and said Bullough was the one who invented it and developed it with him when they were on staff together with the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Hank was a tremendous defensive coach and widely respected across the country,” Dantonio said. “He would actively come up to the offices and talk with our defensive coaches, and shared many ideas and philosophies over the years with our staff.

“He was extremely active in the Michigan State Football Players Association and led the organization for a number of years. He was also instrumental in helping create the George Webster Scholarship Program, which is a huge benefit for our program.”

MSU’s teams were 21-7 from 1952-54 with Bullough as a starter. He was honorable mention All-Big Ten as a junior and senior.

As a sophomore for Biggie Munn in 1952, Bullough played both on the offense and defensive lines. The Spartans finished second nationally in total offense, averaging nearly 429 yards per game including 272 yards on the ground, as Bullough helped pave the way for MSU’s “Pony Backfield.”

As a defensive lineman, he helped Michigan State ranked No. 1 in rushing defense, allowing just 84 yards per game.

As defensive coordinator for MSU’s 1965 team, the Spartans set school records in rushing defense (47.3) and scoring defense (5.6 points per game) and total defense (173.2). Michigan State ranked No. 1 in scoring defense and rushing defense in ’65, led by George Webster and Bubba Smith.

"Thanks to Michigan State, I accomplished everything I could have hoped for in my profession,” Bullough said in 2013, when he was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame. “I played here during the 28-game winning streak (1950-53), played on the 1952 National Championship team and coached for the 1965 and '66 National Championship teams. In 1970, I won a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Colts. There aren't many who have been involved in this game that can say that. I've been very fortunate. For me, Michigan State is a place where a student can come and accomplish whatever he or she wants to because this University offers so many opportunities.”

Bullough was born in Scranton, Pa., and grew up in Canton, Ohio.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Michigan State in 1955. He played for the Green Bay Packers in 1955, served in the United States Army, and then rejoined the Packers for the 1958 season.

Two of Bullough’s sons starred at Michigan State under Perles: Shane (1983-86) and Chuck (1988-91). Shane was a captain and first-team All-Big Ten seletion. Chuck set the Michigan State single-season record in tackles with 175 as a senior in 1991, and is defensive ends coach for Dantonio.

Three of Bullough’s grandsons played at Michigan State under Dantonio: Max (2010-13), Riley (2013-16) and Byron (2015-18).

Max was a two-time captain and two-time first-team All-Big Ten. Riley was third-team All-Big Ten in 2015 and ’16.

“The Spartan football family sends our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Bullough family,” Dantonio said.