Blue Bird Corporation and partners ROUSH CleanTech and Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems will bring two-time national championship winning college football coach Bobby Bowden to the STN EXPO stage this summer, the companies announced.
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006, Bowden currently ranks second on the all-time NCAA football victory list with 377. He had only four losing seasons in 44 years as a head coach, most famously at Florida State University from 1976 through 2009. During his tenure there he recorded 33 consecutive winning seasons.
He was also the head coach at West Virginia from 1970 through 1975, at Howard College (now Samford University) from 1959 through 1962 and at South Georgia College. His career spanned seven decades.
He coached the wide receivers at Florida State for three seasons in the mid-1960s before returning to lead the team. Bowden guided Florida State to two national championships, 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles, 14 straight top five finishes in the nation. The Seminoles also were invited to bowl games 28 consecutive times. Bowden received the Paul “Bear” Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award in January 2011.
The coach also co-wrote four books on topics such as how to win in football and life, leadership and his Christian faith. “Called to Coach” is a New York Times Bestseller.
Bowden remains heavily involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, annually awarding The National Bobby Bowden Award to a student-athlete for achievement on and off the field, including his conduct as a faith model in the community.
Bowden and his wife of 64 years, Ann, live in Tallahassee, Florida.
The keynote address is scheduled for July 27 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno.
