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BOBBY BOWDEN
HEAD COACH, FLORIDA STATE FOOTBALL
When speaking if legendary football coach Bobby Bowden, you face a rather difficult decision. Do you first speak of Bowden, “the man?” Or do you lead with Bowden, “the coach?” If you ask Bowden, he’ll quickly tell you him innumerable coaching records aren’t important. And that, more than anything speaks volumes about Bowden, “the man.”
Like other coaches before him, Bowden has created something of a monster that perches squarely on his back. He has coached his Florida State teams so very close to perfection that his fans expect the moon. He has won 64 games in the last six seasons, including monumental wins over Miami, Florida, Michigan, and yet some say he can’t win “the big one.” He has not lost a bowl game in 11 consecutive appearances and has led FSU to six straight Top Four national finishes and he is the only coach in NCAA Division 1 history to win 10 or more games in six consecutive seasons. His FSU team have now won eight bowls in consecutive seasons – an NCAA record. Bowden’s .781 bowl winning percentage ranks first all-time. Only Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno have won more bowl games.
The list of coaches who have won more games than Bowden is getting so short you might want to jot them down, on a matchbook cover. In 1991, he climbed to seventh on the all-time win list. By the end of 1993, he could break into the top five with a chance to pass or tie Bo Schemblecher and Woody Hayes. His 227 career victories rank second among active Division I coaches behind only Paterno.
Bowden’s Florida State record is 154-45-3. He has also achieved some impressive numbers in his previous coaching stops (31-6 at Stamford University and 42-26 at West Virginia). But his numbers at Florida State are simply phenomenal. Nine times in 17 years, FSU have won 10 or more games in a season. Florida State had been to just eight bowl games in 29 years before him. Florida State has been to 14 bowl games including a string of 11 in a row since his arrival. And when Bowden earned his 150th win as the FSU coach last year, he matched the win of all seven Florida State coached that preceded him.
A polished speaker, Bowden is consistently in demand. His busy coaching schedule curtails many speaking engagements, but any free evening will find him on the after-dinner circuit.
Bowden and his wife, the former Ann Estock, have six children and 14 grandchildren.
