Bobby Bowden

During his time at Florida State, Bowden led FSU to an Associated Press and Coaches Poll National Title in 1993 and a BCS National Championship in 1999, as well as twelve Atlantic Coast Conference championships once FSU joined the conference in 1991. Bowden's Seminoles finished as an AP top-5 team for 14 consecutive seasons, setting a record which doubled the closest program. However, the program weakened during the mid-2000s, and after a difficult 2009 season Bowden was fired by President T.K. Wetherell, just weeks after his 80th birthday. He made his final coaching appearance in the 2010 Gator Bowl game on January 1, 2010, with a 33–21 victory over his former program, West Virginia.


Bowden spent the last part of his career in a race with his close friend, Joe Paterno, to become the winningest NCAA Division I college football coach of all time.^[4] The coaches overtook each other throughout the 2000s, sitting just a game apart before the 2008 college football season.^[5] However, on March 6, 2009, an NCAA ruling required Florida State to "vacate wins for any games in which an ineligible player participated", threatening to remove as many as fourteen of Bowden's wins from the 2006 and 2007 seasons in relation to an academic scandal. Florida State appealed the ruling,^[6][7][8] but the NCAA upheld it on January 5, 2010.^[9] Upon final investigation by FSU, it was determined that Bowden was to vacate 12 wins,^[10] bringing his final career record to 377–129–4, second to Paterno's final tally of 409 wins. Although Bowden coached his teams to 411 total wins during his lifetime. Bowden's South Georgia College wins are also not officially counted by the NCAA. A documentary film about Bowden's life, "The Bowden Dynasty", along with a book of the same name were produced by FSU alumni in 2017.^[11]

Early coaching career[edit]

Bowden served as an assistant football coach and head track and field coach at Howard College (now known as Samford University) in Birmingham, Alabama from 1954–55.^[12] He left his alma mater to become athletic director as well as head football, baseball, and basketball coach at South Georgia College from 1956 to 1958.^[16] After a losing basketball season, Bowden fired himself as head coach. Bowden then returned to Howard as head coach, where he compiled a 31–6 record between 1959 and 1962.^[12] In 1962, Bowden went to Florida State University as an assistant coach under head coach Bill Peterson. Bowden left Florida State in 1965 to go to West Virginia University (WVU) as an assistant under Jim Carlen. When Carlen left following the 1969 season to become head coach at Texas Tech, Bowden replaced him. Bowden then compiled a 42–26 record at WVU before returning to FSU as head coach in 1976.^[17]


During Bowden's first year as head coach at WVU, the football team of the state's other top-division school, Marshall University, was killed in a plane crash. He asked NCAA permission to wear Marshall jerseys and play Marshall's final game of the 1970 season against Ohio, but was denied. In memory of the victims of the crash, Mountaineers players put green crosses and the initials "MU" on their helmets. Bowden allowed Marshall's new head coach Jack Lengyel and his assistants access to game film and playbooks to acquaint themselves with the veer offense, a variation of the option offense which aids teams with weak offensive lines. Lengyel credits Bowden with helping the young Thundering Herd recover. Bowden reportedly became emotional while viewing the movie We Are Marshall, and has said that he was the original candidate for the Marshall head coaching job filled by crash victim Rick Tolley.^[18]

Personal life and death[edit]

Bowden married Ann Estock, his childhood sweetheart, in 1949 and the couple raised six children and 21 grandchildren.^[27] Bowden was a Christian^[28] who credited his success in football to his faith.^[29] He twice endorsed and supported US President Donald Trump, in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.^[30]


Bowden was not the only member of his family to have coached Division I-A football. His son Tommy Bowden was the head coach at Clemson University. Another son, Terry Bowden, was the head coach at Auburn University, where he was the 1993 Coach of the Year. A third son, Jeff Bowden, was the offensive coordinator at Florida State. All three Bowden men who were head coaches have achieved an undefeated season: Terry in 1993 at Auburn; Tommy in 1998 at Tulane; and Bobby in 1999 at Florida State. Bobby's 1993 and 1999 Florida State teams were the only ones to win a national championship, however.^[31]


Bowden was diagnosed with COVID-19 in October 2020.^[32][33] On July 21, 2021, it was reported that Bowden was diagnosed with a terminal medical condition. On July 23, his son reported that the condition was pancreatic cancer.^[34][35] On August 5, word began to filter from the Florida State faithful that Bowden was not doing well and his family was being told to gather. He died the morning of August 8.^[36] He lay in honor in the rotunda of the Florida Capitol Building on August 13. He then lay repose at the Moore Athletic Center outside of Doak Campbell Stadium later that day. A memorial service was held for Bowden in the Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee on August 14. Bowden then lay in repose in the Reid Chapel at Samford University on August 15, prior to burial in Trussville, Alabama.^[37] on August 16.