The University of Akron Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Alma Mater:
- West Virginia '78
Follow Coach Bowden on Twitter
The Dean of all Mid-American Conference coaches with 175 career wins, Akron’s Terry Bowden completed his seventh season in 2018 at the helm of the UA program and 25th season as a head coach. He was named the Zips’ 27th all-time head coach on Dec. 22, 2011, but he is just the seventh person to hold the position since 1960.
Bowden was not retained following the 2018 season.
Owning a 175-114-2 record over a 25-year collegiate coaching career, Bowden ranks sixth nationally among active Division I head coaches in career wins (175).
Bowden was responsible for miraculous turnarounds almost everywhere he has coached and helped rebuild at The University of Akron during his tenure.
In 2018, Akron (4-8 overall, 2-6 MAC) started off the season at 2-0 for the first time in 25 years (since 1993). With the 39-34 win at Northwestern, UA claimed its first win over a Big Ten team since 1894 and its first win over a Big Ten team since moving up to FBS play in 1987. The Zips also claimed their fourth consecutive Wagon Wheel victory (and fifth in last six years) over rival Kent State while graduating one of the most successful senior classes in program history.
Six Zips earned All-MAC honors. Earning first-team All-MAC recognition was junior defensive back Alvin Davis, Jr. Senior linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III, redshirt senior defensive end Jamal Davis II, and senior defensive back Kyron Brown garnered second-team All-MAC honors. Junior linebacker John Lako and senior linebacker Brian Bell were third-team All-MAC honorees.
Senior safety Jamal Baggett was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Google Cloud Academic All-District 5 football team.
In 2017, the Zips (7-7 overall, 6-2 MAC) soared to first place in the MAC East with huge victories over Ohio and Kent State to claim the division title and a spot in the MAC Championship game for the second time in program history and first time since 2005. Akron also advanced to an FBS bowl for the second time in three years, another program first. After opening MAC play at 3-0 for the first time, UA went on to win five home games at InfoCision Stadium– Summa field, the most in a single season since the stadium opened in 2009. The Zips won their third consecutive Wagon Wheel (and fourth in last five years) over rival Kent State.
In the final NCAA rankings, Akron was No. 7 in interceptions (19), No. 8 in defensive touchdowns (4), No. 19 in turnover margin (0.71), and No. 36 in red zone defense (0.800). UA also ranked No. 2 nationally in attendance increase from 2016 to 2017. The Zips set records for most games in a season (14), most home wins at InfoCision (5), and punts in a season (88).
Four Zips earned All-MAC recognition with junior linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III capturing first-team honors for the second consecutive year. Sophomore defensive back Alvin Davis, Jr., garnered second-team All-MAC honors. Redshirt senior wide receiver Tra’Von Chapman and redshirt junior defensive end Jamal Davis II were third-team All-MAC honorees. Six Akron upperclassmen earned Academic All-MAC honors, while senior running back Warren Ball was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 5 football team. Six Zips earned their bachelor degrees prior to the start of the season, and 14 Zips graduated in December before appearing in the bowl game.
In 2016, Bowden led UA to a 5-7 overall record, finishing just one play away from back-to-back bowl appearances. The Zips, which won their second consecutive Wagon Wheel (and third in last four years) over rival Kent State, led the MAC in punt returns (17.53) which also ranked third nationally.
Sophomore linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III and redshirt senior punt returner JoJo Natson, Jr., earned first-team All-Mid-American Conference honors. Natson also garnered second-team All-MAC honors at wide receiver. Junior wide receiver Jerome Lane and redshirt sophomore placekicker Tom O’Leary were third-team All-MAC honorees.
For just the second time in program history (and first time since 1980), an Akron Zip earned Academic All-America honors. Junior safety Zach Guiser was a first-team selection, while redshirt senior captain James Turner was a second-team honoree. The duo headlined nine Zips on the Academic All-MAC team. Four Zips– Ulysees Gilbert, Guiser, Turner, and Daumantas Venckus– were also awarded Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honors from the MAC.
During the summer, four players from the 2016 team signed rookie free agent contracts with NFL teams, including DB Larry Hope (Miami), WR Jerome Lane (New York Giants), DL Jamal Marcus (Cleveland), and WR JoJo Natson (Indianapolis).
In 2015, Bowden guided the Zips to an 8-5 overall record and a second-place finish in the MAC (5-3) East en route to the program’s first winning season and bowl appearance since 2005. Ranked No. 2 nationally by Phil Steele as the Most Improved Team, Akron captured its first-ever bowl victory in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) era (since 1987) with a 23-21 win over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 22. UA won the 500th game in program history with a 35-14 victory at Louisiana on Sept. 26, 2015, while closing out the season with five consecutive wins. The Zips shut out rival Kent State, 20-0, in the home finale to regain possession of the coveted Wagon Wheel. The eight wins on the season were the most in the FBS era.
Senior linebacker Jatavis Brown was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year and a three-time first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection. Senior nose tackle Cody Grice was a second-team pick, while senior offensive lineman Isaiah Williams, senior defensive lineman Rodney Coe, and junior defensive lineman Jamal Marcus were third-team All-MAC selections. Ten Zips earned Academic All-MAC honors, including four-time recipient placekicker Robert Stein and three-time honoree Kyle Pohl. Five of those 10 Zips were selected as MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes.
The Zips led the MAC in total defense (331.5) and rushing defense (92.9) which ranked third nationally. Senior linebacker Jatavis Brown competed in the NFL Players Association Collegiate Bowl after setting records for TFL (20.0) and sacks (12.) in a season and 41.5 TFL in his career. He became just the 16th Zip in program history (and first-ever linebacker) to be drafted into the NFL. Brown was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round.
In 2014, Bowden guided the Zips to a 5-7 overall for the second consecutive season. With 10 victories over the last two seasons, the Zips totaled more wins than the previous three seasons combined.
Four Akron players earned All-Mid-American Conference honors. Junior linebacker Jatavis Brown and junior nose tackle Cody Grice were first-team honorees on defense. Senior lineman Nordly Capi and junior punter Zach Paul earned second-team honors. Nine Zips earned Academic All-MAC honors with four— Andrew Bohan, Zach Guiser, Kyle Pohl, and Robert Stein— earning Distinguished Scholar-Athlete status.
During the summer, five players from the 2014 squad signed with NFL teams, including Nordly Capi (Jacksonville), Jawon Chisholm (Pittsburgh), Zach D’Orazio (New England), Justin March -Lillard (Kansas City), and Nmesoma Okafor (Cincinnati).
In 2013, Bowden led UA to its highest win total since 2008 by going 5-7 overall and 4-4 against the MAC, as well as ending the year by winning three straight and four of its last five games. The Zips went 3-3 at home, including a 31-29 win over Toledo in the season finale and a 16-7 victory over neighborhood rival Kent State to regain possession of the coveted wooden Wagon Wheel.
Additionally in 2013, seven players were named All-MAC, highlighted by first-team selection then-sophomore linebacker Jatavis Brown – the first Zip named to the first team since Bryan Wagner in 2011. The 2013 squad also landed defensive lineman Nico Caponi, sophomore quarterback Kyle Pohl and sophomore kicker Robert Stein on the Academic All-MAC Team – the most for the program since 2006. Eight other student-athletes were awarded academic honorable mention.
In 2012, Bowden, serving as offensive coordinator, ushered in a spread offense that resulted in an aerial attack responsible for a school-record and MAC season-high 30 passing touchdowns. The offense, which was conducted in a hurry-up no-huddle style, was led by fifth-year senior transfer quarterback Dalton Williams, who set the program’s single-season record for touchdown passes (25) and pass completions (326-for-522), while compiling the third most passing yards (3,387) in a season in school history.
Williams’ arm was complimented by sophomore running back Jawon Chisholm’s 953 yards rushing on the strength of 180 carries and senior receiver Marquelo Suel’s team-high 820 receiving yards off 76 catches. Suel’s receptions were the second most in a single season in program history and earned him a place on the All-MAC Team.
The UA offense finished 2012 ranked first in the MAC and 16th nationally in passing (312.8 ypg), and sixth in the league and 45th in the country in total offense (427.2 ypg). Akron’s 5,126 yards of total offense ranked sixth in the MAC and 61st nationally, and was the second most in a season in program history, behind the 2003 squad’s 5,643.
Other highlights of the 2012 season included redshirt freshman kicker Robert Stein being one of 38 student-athletes named to the Academic All-MAC Team. Additionally, 11 Zips earned academic honorable mention from the league. Fifth-year senior transfer linebacker Kurt Mangum was selected to compete in the NFL Players Association Collegiate Bowl after he led the squad with 110 tackles.
Bowden, who served as a studio analyst and color commentator with ABC Sports’ college football for 10 years, was the head coach at Auburn from 1993-98 and spent the three seasons prior to coming to Akron at Division II North Alabama.
In his time at North Alabama, Bowden led the Lions to a 29-9 record and three consecutive playoff appearances. In 2011, the squad went 9-3 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. He was named Gulf South Conference Co-Coach of the Year in 2009 when the team went 11-2 and won the GSC championship and advanced to the quarterfinals of the playoffs. He followed that in 2010 by guiding the Lions to a 9-4 record and another trip to the playoffs.
Bowden was named head coach at Auburn on Dec. 17, 1992. In 1993, Auburn had a perfect 11-0 record and he swept virtually every national coach of the year award in his rookie season, including Walter Camp, Scripps Howard, Football News, Toyota and the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award, presented by the Football Writers Association. Bowden was the first coach in Division I-A to go 11-0 in his inaugural season, winning the first 20 games of his tenure consecutively.
Bowden was again a finalist for coach of the year following his second season at Auburn as the Tigers had reeled off 20-straight wins, still an Auburn record, and finished 9-1-1. He posted a 47-17-1 record at Auburn and led the Tigers to three bowl games.
As head coach of Auburn, he went 47-17-1 (73.4 winning percentage) and posted the best opening five-year run of any head football coach in school history. Also during his time with the Tigers, Bowden became the first collegiate coach in 50 years to win his 100th career game by his 40th birthday.
In his first season at AU, he became the first coach in Division I-A (now FBS) history to have an undefeated and untied season in his inaugural year at that level.
Prior to his stint at Auburn, Bowden built two programs from the ground up as head coach at Salem College (W.Va.) and Samford University (Ala.). When he took the job at Salem in 1983, he became the nation’s youngest head coach in college football at age 26. He inherited a program that went 0-9-1 the season before his arrival and guided the team to two conference championships in his first three years.
Inheriting a Samford program which had won just six games in three years prior to his arrival, Bowden led the Bulldogs to a 9-1 record his first year, tying the record for the best season in school history. The squad led the nation in total offense (523 yards per game) and scoring offense (51.7 points per game), both national Division III records. The team’s 40 touchdown passes were also a national single-season record.
Bowden then engineered and directed Samford’s move from non-scholarship Division III football to Division I-AA (now FCS) scholarship football. With only one freshman class on scholarship, the Bulldogs went to a full Division I-AA schedule in 1989. By 1991, Samford was competing for the national championship. His 1991 Samford team had the best record in school history at 12-2, and reached the Division I-AA national semifinals.
Bowden was an assistant coach at Akron in 1986 under then Zips’ head coach Gerry Faust.
During his time away from coaching, Bowden first served as the studio analyst and color commentator with ABC Sports’ college football coverage in the studios in Times Square. He was also an analyst for Westwood One Radio’s College Football National Game of the Week, co-hosted “The Coaches Show” on Sirius Satellite Radio with Jack Arute, and was the exclusive college football columnist for Yahoo! Sports.
Bowden is a member of one of the most famous and successful college football coaching families. His father, Bobby Bowden, turned Florida State into a national champion and his 377 collegiate wins rank second in Division I history.
His brother Tommy had an 18-4 record in two seasons as head coach at Tulane and a 72-45 record in 10 seasons as head coach at Clemson, taking the Tigers to eight bowl games. His brother Jeff also has 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, working at Salem, Samford, Southern Mississippi, Florida State, North Alabama, and at Akron with Terry.
During the decade of the 1990s, Terry, Tommy, and Bobby all led their teams to undefeated seasons. All three were named National Coach of the Year. Bobby and Terry were the first father-son combo in NCAA history to serve as head coaches at the same time. Bobby and Tommy were the first father-son combo to coach against each other.
As a student-athlete at West Virginia, Bowden lettered two years as a running back (1977-78), held a 3.65 grade-point average in accounting, the highest GPA on the football team, and graduated Magna Cum Laude.
He did post graduate work at Oxford University in England, and earned a Juris Doctorate from the Florida State School of Law in 1982, while a graduate assistant coach with the Seminoles.
Bowden, 62 (born Feb. 25, 1956), has five daughters-- Tera, Jordan, Erin, Cori, and Jamie; a son, Terry Bowden, Jr.; and a grandson Skyler.
He is one of 59 coaches at FBS schools that vote in the USA Today Top 25 poll.
THE TERRY BOWDEN FILE
Collegiate Head Coaching History
Year School Record • Notable
1983 Salem 3-7
1984 Salem 8-3 • WVIAC Champions
1983 Salem 8-3 • WVIAC Champions
Salem Totals (three seasons) 19-13-0
1987 Samford 9-1
1988 Samford 5-6 • Transition to I-AA
1989 Samford 4-7
1990 Samford 6-4-1
1991 Samford 12-2 • Division I-AA Playoffs-Semifinals
1992 Samford 9-3 • Division I-AA Playoffs-First Rd.
Samford Totals (six seasons) 45-23-1
1993 Auburn 11-0 • National Champions (NCF)
1994 Auburn 9-1-1 • No. 9 AP Final Ranking
1995 Auburn 8-4 • Outback Bowl Appearance
1996 Auburn 8-4 • Independence Bowl Win
1997 Auburn 10-3 • Peach Bowl Win
1998 Auburn 1-5
Auburn Totals (six seasons) 47-17-1
2009 North Alabama 11-2 • Division II Playoffs-Quarterfinals
2010 North Alabama 9-4 • Division II Playoffs-Second Rd.
2011 North Alabama 9-3 • Division II Playoffs-Second Rd.
UNA Totals (three seasons) 29-9
2012 Akron 1-11
2013 Akron 5-7 • 4-4 in MAC play
2014 Akron 5-7 • 3-5 in MAC play
2015 Akron 8-5 • 5-3 in MAC play • Potato Bowl Win
2016 Akron 5-7 • 3-5 in MAC play
2017 Akron 7-7 • 6-2 in MAC play • Boca Raton Bowl
2018 Akron 4-8 • 2-6 in MAC play
Akron Totals (7 seasons) 34-52 (.402)
Career Totals (25 seasons) 175-114-2 (.605)
Coaching Honors
1993 Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year
Walter Camp Coach of the Year
Scripps Howard Coach of the Year
Football News Coach of the Year
Toyota Coach of the Year
Paul “Bear” Bryant Award (Football Writers Association)
2009 Gulf South Conference Co-Coach of the Year
Collegiate Playing Career
1977-78 Football (West Virginia)
