Dick Bowers - USF Athletic Hall of Fame
Dick Bowers
- Induction:
- 2009
Director of Athletics (1966-82)
There is no doubt that Bowers had a lasting impact on the University of South Florida, and in particular, the USF Athletics Department.
Bowers was the leader that made the push for intercollegiate athletics at the university. Bowers, who joined the USF physical education department in 1963, was asked to become athletic director by president John Allen. His tenure as athletic director ran from 1966-82. Under his leadership, he helped to establish the Sun Belt Conference, added 13 intercollegiate sports programs - including men's and women's basketball, and built several facilities, including the USF Sun Dome, Red McEwen Field, and a university golf course. Bowers helped put South Florida on the map by hiring big-name coaches including Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Roberts for USF's baseball team and Lee Rose for USF's men's basketball team. Roberts won 262 games for the Bulls from 1977-85 and the four-time Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year led USF to two regular season league titles. Rose won over 60 percent of his games and led Bulls basketball to its first three postseason appearances.
A retired U.S. Army captain and former basketball player for the University of Tennessee, upon his resignation as athletic director, Bowers served as an associate dean, professor and director of development for the USF College of Business Administration from 1982 until his retirement in 2003. Bowers passed away on Nov. 29, 2007, but his legacy lives on in Green and Gold spirit.
Bowers was inducted into the USF Athletics Hall of Fame with the first class in 2009.
There is no doubt that Bowers had a lasting impact on the University of South Florida, and in particular, the USF Athletics Department.
Bowers was the leader that made the push for intercollegiate athletics at the university. Bowers, who joined the USF physical education department in 1963, was asked to become athletic director by president John Allen. His tenure as athletic director ran from 1966-82. Under his leadership, he helped to establish the Sun Belt Conference, added 13 intercollegiate sports programs - including men's and women's basketball, and built several facilities, including the USF Sun Dome, Red McEwen Field, and a university golf course. Bowers helped put South Florida on the map by hiring big-name coaches including Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Roberts for USF's baseball team and Lee Rose for USF's men's basketball team. Roberts won 262 games for the Bulls from 1977-85 and the four-time Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year led USF to two regular season league titles. Rose won over 60 percent of his games and led Bulls basketball to its first three postseason appearances.
A retired U.S. Army captain and former basketball player for the University of Tennessee, upon his resignation as athletic director, Bowers served as an associate dean, professor and director of development for the USF College of Business Administration from 1982 until his retirement in 2003. Bowers passed away on Nov. 29, 2007, but his legacy lives on in Green and Gold spirit.
Bowers was inducted into the USF Athletics Hall of Fame with the first class in 2009.
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