Tommy Bowden

Head Coaching Record:
70-37 after nine seasons, 18-4 in two seasons at Tulane, 43-25 after seven seasons at Clemson.

Coaching Experience:
Graduate assistant coach at West Virginia (1977)
Defensive backs coach at Florida State (1978-79)
Running backs coach at Auburn (1980)
Tight ends coach at Florida State (1981-83)
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Duke (1984-86)
Wide receivers coach at Alabama (1987-89)
Offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at Kentucky (1990)
Offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at Auburn (1991-96)
Head coach at Tulane (1997-98)
Head coach at Clemson (1999-present)

Playing Experience:
Wide receiver at West Virginia (1973-76)

Education:
B.S. in physical education with a minor in health from West Virginia in 1976

Personal Data:
Born on July 10, 1954 married to the former Linda Joan White , two children (Ryan, 24 and Lauren 20).

Bowl Participation:
As a player
1975 Peach Bowl

As an assistant coach
1980 Orange Bowl
1982 Gator Bowl
1983 Peach Bowl
1988 Hall of Fame Bowl
1988 Sun Bowl
1990 Sugar Bowl
1996 Outback Bowl
1996 Independence Bowl

As a head coach
1998 Independence Bowl
1999 Peach Bowl
2000 Gator Bowl
2001 Humanitarian Bowl
2002 Tangerine Bowl
2004 Peach Bowl
2005 Champs Sports Bowl

When one looks at Head Coach Tommy Bowden's resumé, the first thing that comes to mind is consistency. Bowden has completed nine seasons as a Division I head coach, and all nine of his teams have been bowl eligible at the conclusion of the regular season.

Bowden has also shown consistency in terms of improvement over the course of seasons. In each of the last three years, his teams have won at least five of its last six games. The 2003 team won its last four games, including victories over top-10 teams Florida State and Tennessee to finish the year ranked in the top 25 of both polls.

There has also been consistency in terms of success against Clemson's in-state rival (South Carolina). The Tigers have won six of the seven meetings with the Gamecocks since Bowden became Clemson's head coach in the 1999 season, and the 85.7-percent winning percentage is the best of any Tiger head coach in history against the Gamecocks given a minimum of five games. He has an average victory margin of 12.3 points per game in the state-rivalry game, including six against future Hall of Fame Head Coaches Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier.

Through nine seasons as a Division I head coach, Bowden has a 70-37 record, a 65.4-percent winning percentage that ranks 15th among winningest active coaches and eighth among coaches with at least six years of experience. In conference games, he has never had a sub-.500 record, and his overall conference record stands at 43-25 for a 63.2-percent winning percentage.

Through seven years at Clemson, he has a 52-33 mark and six bowl appearances. He has 32 ACC wins as well. The only program with more ACC wins during this time is Florida State. The 52 overall victories rank third in Clemson history in total wins. The 29-7 victory over South Carolina in the 2004 season finale was not only the 600th win in Clemson history, it moved Bowden ahead of Hall of Fame Coach Jess Neely into third place on Clemson's coaching victories list. Only Frank Howard and Danny Ford are ahead of Bowden.

Twice Bowden has been named ACC Coach-of-the-Year (1999,03), joining Howard, Charley Pell, and Ford as the only two-time recipients of that award in Tiger history. In January of 2006, he was presented the Grant Teaff Coach-of-the-Year Award by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

In the 2005 season, Clemson had a record of 8-4, including a 3-2 mark against top-25 ranked teams. All four of the losses were by six points or less and by a total of 14 points. Two of those losses came in overtime, therefore the Tigers lost the four games by a combined five points at the end of regulation.

The 2005 team also won six of its last seven games, including a 19-10 victory over Colorado in the Champs Sports Bowl. It marked the first time since 1991 that Clemson ended a season with six wins in the final seven games. The Tigers had the best record among the 12 ACC teams over that time period.

The Tigers earned close victories to start the year against #17 Texas A&M and Maryland, then lost three nailbiters in a row. But just like the two previous years, Clemson won five of its last regular-season six games, including wins over #16 Florida State (eventual ACC Champion) and #19 South Carolina in the final two regular-season games. It was the first time since 1983 that Clemson defeated top-20 teams in consecutive games.

Clemson ranked in the top 25 in four national defensive rankings, including 11th in scoring defense. After the victory over Colorado in the Champs Sports Bowl, the Tigers were ranked #21 in the final Associated Press and USA Today polls. Clemson had three wins over top-20 ranked teams, the most in one season by a Tiger team since 1989.

Both placekicker Jad Dean (Lou Groza Award) and cornerback Tye Hill (Jim Thorpe Award) were finalists for their respective awards in 2005. Hill was a Walter Camp First-Team All-American as well.

In his four years at Clemson, Charlie Whitehurst became the most prolific signal-caller in school history. He set 46 Tiger records, including records for passing yards (9,665), completions (817), completion percentage (59.5), and touchdown passes (49). He directed Clemson to 25 victories as a starting quarterback, the second-most wins in school history.

Consistency in his approach is one reason Clemson went from a 1-4 start to bowl eligibility in 2004. It marked the first time since 1963 that a Tiger team had overcome such a deficit to finish with a winning season.

His 2004 Clemson team featured a defense that ranked 11th in the nation in pass efficiency defense. The unit had 42 sacks to rank in the top 10 in the nation. Leroy Hill was named the ACC Defensive Player-of-the-Year and a Third-Team Associated Press All-American. Cornerback Justin Miller was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and was a second-team All-American as a kick returner. Wide receiver Airese Currie led the ACC in receptions and reception yards.

Clemson played a complete game at #10 Miami (FL) on November 6, 2004 and defeated the Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl by a score of 24-17 in overtime. It was the second overtime win of the season for the Tigers, who are 4-2 in extra-session games under Bowden.

Clemson overcame a 14-point halftime deficit, not to mention overcoming a fourth-quarter deficit, a rarity against Miami. The Hurricanes had been 174-2 when leading going into the fourth quarter since 1985.

The win over Miami gave Bowden and the Tigers three wins over top-10 programs in a 13-game span, something that had been done at Clemson just once previously (1981 National Championship team). All three of those programs (Florida State, Tennessee, Miami) have won the national championship within the last eight seasons.

Over the last three seasons, Bowden has won seven games over coaches who have won the national title (Bobby Bowden (twice), Phillip Fulmer, Larry Coker, Holtz (twice), and Steve Spurrier). These big wins have stimulated interest in the program. The Tigers averaged over 78,000 fans per home game in 2005. Clemson has ranked in the top 20 in home football attendance each of the seven seasons Bowden has been at Clemson, and five of the top-nine average attendance seasons have come during his tenure.

With Clemson's selection to the 2003 Peach Bowl, Bowden became the first head coach in Clemson and ACC history to take a team to a bowl game in each of his first five seasons. In fact, no coach had ever done so more than twice to open his career at Clemson. Under Bowden's direction, Clemson had also appeared in the Peach Bowl in 1999, the Gator Bowl in 2000, the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl, the 2002 Tangerine Bowl prior, and the 2004 Peach Bowl prior to its 2005 Champs Sports Bowl invitation.

The 2004 Peach Bowl appearance meant that it was the first time since the senior class of 1991 that Clemson went to a bowl game five consecutive years. Clemson's red-shirt seniors of 2003 were the first group he recruited, so it is an indication of the firm foundation his first group set. In December of 2003, Bowden cemented his place at Clemson by signing a seven-year contract, which will go through 2010.

The 2003 season was a breakthrough year in many ways. Clemson earned its highest-ever win over a ranked team with a 26-10 victory over #3 Florida State. The Tigers also defeated #24 Virginia in a thrilling overtime game. The 39-3 win over a bowl-bound Georgia Tech team was Clemson's largest victory margin in the series since 1900 as well.

The 2003 victory over Florida State, Clemson's first in 12 tries since the Seminoles joined the ACC, was the beginning of a four-game winning streak to close the season. In those four games, Clemson outscored its opponents 156-48, an average score of 39-12. Clemson defeated arch-rival South Carolina in Columbia by a score of 63-17. It was the most points ever scored by a team in the 101-game series and the Tigers' largest victory margin in the series since 1900.

The season concluded with a 27-14 win over #6 Tennessee, the highest-ranked team Clemson has defeated in a bowl game since 1981, when the Tigers defeated #4 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl to claim the national championship. As a result, Clemson finished the season with nine wins and a #22 final national ranking.

Over the final four games of the season, Bowden defeated two coaches (Bobby Bowden, Holtz) who had already earned 200 wins to become the first coach in NCAA history to beat a pair of 200-game winners in a month's time. He also registered wins over three coaches (Bowden, Holtz, Fulmer) who had previously won a national title.

Records continued to fall in 2003 under Bowden. Whitehurst set the single-season mark for passing yards (3,561), completions (288), and tied the record for touchdown passes (21). Derrick Hamilton's 10 touchdown catches also set a single-season mark at Clemson, while placekicker Aaron Hunt became the school's all-time leading scorer in the game against the Seminoles.

The 2003 team showed improvement both from 2002 and over the course of the 2003 season. The Tigers averaged over 420 yards per game of total offense and ranked in the top 25 in the nation in passing yards per game, a first in school history. The Tiger defense was also outstanding, allowing under 20 points per game and under 330 yards per game, both ranking in the top 30 in the country. Perhaps Clemson's strongest facet of the defense was the secondary. The Tigers were second in the ACC in pass defense, and had a top-25 mark in the country. Clemson also was second in the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 27.7 yards per return, a school-record figure. Clemson followed that with a #11 final ranking in pass efficiency defense and a #3 finish in kickoff return average.

Off the field, Clemson has graduated nearly 80 percent of its seniors in Bowden's seven years. In 2003, Clemson ranked #11 in the nation, including second among public institutions, in the NCAA graduation-rate study for scholarship football signees who entered Clemson in 1996. Clemson was first in the nation in graduation rate among African-Americans (100 percent).

The 2002 season included victories over bowl teams Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, and a third victory in four years over arch-rival South Carolina. Clemson gained 434 yards of total offense in the 27-20 win over the Gamecocks, the most yards against Holtz's defense all season.

The 2002 Tigers featured balance on both offense and defense. The receiving trio of Hamilton, J.J. McKelvey, and Kevin Youngblood combined for 163 receptions for nearly 2,000 yards and eight scores. Running backs Yusef Kelly and Bernard Rambert collectively gained over 1,000 yards rushing, while quarterbacks Willie Simmons and Whitehurst threw for over 3,100 yards and 16 scores.

The Clemson defense featured two of the top 21 players in the nation in terms of interceptions per game. Miller had eight interceptions, best among all freshmen nationally, and Brian Mance had six in an All-America season. The defense was one of the most improved units in the ACC and ranked in the top 10 in the nation in interceptions (21).

Clemson had another record-setting season in 2001, a season that culminated with a Humanitarian Bowl victory over Louisiana Tech. Clemson set school records for points scored, touchdowns, and total offense in a bowl game in the victory.

It was a record-breaking performance for the Tigers in Boise, ID, something that surprised no one. Five of the seven total-offense seasons in school history have been recorded under Bowden, including the 2001 season when Clemson averaged over 30 points and a school-record 432 yards of total offense per game.

The 2001 season demonstrated Bowden's ability to win in the long run, as he had the second-youngest "two-deep" in the ACC. Thirty-four of his top 44 players were underclassmen. Only Duke had a younger group of top 44 players. Fourteen different freshmen saw action in 2001, including 10 who played in at least 10 games.

Bowden has a record of 52-33 (.612) as Clemson's head coach and is 70-37 (.654) overall. He has recorded that ledger against a difficult schedule. His first year, Clemson's schedule was ranked in the top 10 in the nation. In 2001, his team defeated five teams that finished the season with a winning record, tied for the third-highest single-season figure in school history. One of the victories was a 47-44 overtime triumph at #9 Georgia Tech. It was the highest-ranked road win in 20 years for the Clemson program. In 2003 and 2004, Clemson's schedule strength once again ranked in the top 25 by the Sagarin rating. The 2005 team faced five top-25 teams in the regular season, a first in school history.

When Bowden came to Clemson in 1998, he inherited a team with a 3-8 record. By late October of 2000, just 14 months after his first game, Clemson was ranked third in the nation in the USA Today poll after an 8-0 start. That ranking was the highest for the program in 16 years. The final #14 ranking in that same poll was the highest final listing for the program since the 1990 season.

Making a swift improvement is nothing new for Bowden. In 1997, he took over a 4-7 Tulane program and brought the Green Wave to a 7-4 mark in his first year. In 1998, the improvement continued with an 11-0 regular season and #7 national ranking. In 1999, Bowden elevated the Tigers from 3-8 to a bowl game and a 6-6 final record. The 2000 Tigers concluded the season with a 9-3 record, their highest win total since 1993.

As one can see, considerable improvement is a common phrase for Bowden-coached teams. In each of his first four years he coached at the Division I level, his team showed at least a three-win improvement over the previous year, believed to be a first in Division I history. Bowden is just the third coach in Clemson history to bring the Tigers to a three-win improvement in consecutive years and was one of just two Division I coaches to do it over the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

In 2000 and 2001, his dynamic offense produced a Heisman Trophy contender in quarterback Woodrow Dantzler, who placed his name next to 52 school records as the Tigers' signal-caller. In 2001, Dantzler became the first quarterback in Division I history to accumulate 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a single season. Dantzler was named a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award in 2000 and 2001.

Center Kyle Young was a finalist for the Rimington Award in 2000 and 2001, and won the ACC's Jim Tatum Award, presented to the league's top student-athlete. He was one of eight players nationally to receive a National Football Foundation Scholarship and became just the second offensive lineman in college football history to become a three-time first-team Academic All-American. Linebacker Chad Carson also performed well in the classroom and on the gridiron. He and Young were first-team Academic All-American selections in 2000 and 2001.

Bowden's second Clemson team was one of the most decorated in history. Six different Tigers were finalists or semifinalist for national position awards, including linebacker Keith Adams, who was one of the final three finalists for the Butkus Award.

Young and Carson were both named first-team Academic All-Americans, making Clemson the only Division I-A school in the nation to have a pair of first-team selections. For the second straight year, the football team had its highest team GPA on record in 2001 and a record number of ACC Academic Honor Roll recipients. Nineteen of the 22 seniors on the 2001 team earned their degrees.

The top-six semester GPAs on record have taken place under his 13-semester watch. Carson brought pride to the entire University in 2002 when he reached the final stage of the Rhodes Scholarship selection process, the only Division I college football player to hold that distinction.

When Bowden came to Clemson, he had one simple goal - improvement. Bowden warned Clemson supporters that the Tigers were unlikely to be bowl participants in 1999, but his main focus was to improve. Bowden's goal of improvement was reached and he was happy to be wrong about his preseason prediction, as the Tigers were invited to the 1999 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

In 1999, Bowden accomplished a personal milestone that no Clemson coach had attained since 1981, the year the Tigers won the National Championship. He became the first Clemson coach since Danny Ford to be named ACC Coach-of-the-Year.

Bowden led the Tigers to a 6-6 record and 5-3 mark in the ACC against the nation's seventh-toughest schedule according to the Sagarin rating. The Tigers finished tied for second with Georgia Tech and Virginia in the final ACC standings, a six-place improvement over the previous season, the greatest one-season jump in ACC history in league play.

The Tigers also made a four-game ACC-win improvement in 1999. It was just the fifth time in ACC history that a team made that big of a league victory jump. Bowden had taken over a team with a losing record and brought it to a bowl game in his first season, just the sixth coach in ACC history to accomplish that feat.

The Clemson program set or tied 41 school records in Bowden's first year, including 26 on offense. Ironically, Bowden's first Tulane team set or tied 26 offensive school records.

The improvements in the ACC standings were thanks in large part to an innovative offensive attack. The Clemson offense ended the season averaging 402.6 yards per game, nearly a 100-yard per game improvement over 1998. The Tigers scored 26.8 points per game in 1999 compared to 19.8 in 1998. Clemson's 42 touchdowns in 1999 ranked fifth best in school history.

Under Bowden, Clemson continued its strong defensive tradition. With 47 sacks, Clemson was first in the ACC in that category for the second-straight season, and the final total established a school record. Three players (Adams - 15.5, Carson - 12.0, Robert Carswell - 10.8) all had nearly 11 tackles per game in 1999 to rank among the top-four tacklers in the league.

Adams, a sophomore that season, finished with 186 tackles, highest in the nation, and broke the Clemson single-season tackle record held by Anthony Simmons. They all contributed to the 17th-best pass efficiency defense in the nation, a unit that had 19 interceptions, ninth highest in the country.

Thanks to the wide-open offensive attack, several Clemson players made their presence felt in the national rankings and the Clemson record book. Junior wide receiver Rod Gardner became the school's first 1,000-yard receiver. Gardner had 80 receptions for 1,084 yards, Tiger single-season records in both areas. He was 17th in the nation in receptions per game, with a 6.6 mark. He had another 1,000-yard season in 2000 when he was a first-round draft choice of the Washington Redskins.

Hamilton also made a name for himself in the Tiger recordbook. In just three seasons, he set the all-purpose yardage, kickoff return yardage, and total receptions record for a career. Meanwhile, Currie finished his career with over 2,000 receiving yards. Only six Tigers have surpassed 2,000 receiving yards, and three (Currie, Gardner, Hamilton) have played under Bowden.

Four of Clemson's losses in 1999 came against teams ranked in the top 15 of the final AP poll. Bowden Bowl I, the first ever meeting between father and son head coaches in college football history, took place on October 23, 1999. Bowden faced his father Bobby's top-ranked Florida State team in Death Valley in front of a national television audience. The Tigers lost a tough battle to the eventual National Champions, 17-14, the closest margin of victory for the Seminoles and the fewest points they recorded all season by two touchdowns.

Making strong improvement in his first year with a program was nothing new for Bowden. In the two seasons he was the head coach at Tulane, Bowden took a team that had been 4-18 in the two years previous to his arrival, and emotionally and numerically reversed the team's fortunes with an 18-4 record, posted an 11-1 conference mark, and finished the 1998 season ranked seventh in the nation by both polls. Tulane and Tennessee were the only undefeated teams in college football in 1998.

His Tulane team had a 22-game average of 39.7 points, 5.1 touchdowns, 463 yards of total offense, 270.5 yards passing, and 192.6 yards rushing. The Green Wave averaged 6.34 yards per play, and converted on third down 47 percent of the time. Some say the most telling statistic in terms of wins and losses, and the most telling statistic when it comes to coaching ability is turnover margin. The Green Wave ranked fifth in the nation in turnover margin each of his seasons at Tulane.

It did not take Bowden long to put Tulane back on the college football landscape. In his first year, Tulane was picked last in the preseason polls of Conference USA. But he led the New Orleans-based school to a 7-4 record, a second-place conference standing with just one league loss, and set 33 school records in the process, including 26 on offense.

Tulane's accomplishments on offense were noteworthy in 1997, but its offensive numbers reached uncharted areas in 1998. Tulane stood as the only school in the nation that averaged over 300 yards per game passing and 200 yards per game rushing. The team ranked fourth in the nation in total offense (507.1 per game) and second in scoring (45.4 points per game).

The Green Wave scored 40 or more points in eight games in 1998, including each of the last seven games. In one game, the Green Wave scored 72 points and rolled up 704 yards of total offense. They converted 52 percent of their third-down opportunities for the season and had just 11 turnovers in over 800 plays. The 1998 season saw the program post a perfect 11-0 regular season under Bowden, its first perfect regular season since 1931. The Green Wave won Conference USA, its first league title since Tulane won the SEC in 1949. Bowden was named Conference USA Coach-of-the-Year.

Bowden's team ranked seventh in the final AP poll and was a mainstay in the polls from the third week of the season on. Tulane had not been ranked at any time since 1979, and had not been ranked in a final poll since 1973. After Bowden accepted the job at Clemson, Tulane defeated Brigham Young in the Liberty Bowl, 41-27.

A look to the list of coaches who had undefeated seasons in the 1990s shows two other men named Bowden. His father, Florida State Head Coach Bobby Bowden, had a perfect regular season in 1996 and 1999, while his brother, Terry, posted a perfect regular season in 1993. Obviously, the Bowdens are the first family of college coaching and this "Wonder Years" environment had a lot to do with Tommy Bowden's decision to enter coaching.

The fatherly influence of a college coach who reached 300 career wins against his son in 1999, also had an influence on other members of the family. Bobby Bowden is the winningest coach in Division I history. Terry has been a head coach at Samford and Auburn, posting a 47-17-1 record at the latter. Terry served as an in-studio commentator for ABC's college football package. Jeff Bowden is in his ninth year as wide receivers coach at Florida State, his third as offensive coordinator.

Tommy Bowden began his college football experience as a walk-on wide receiver at West Virginia. He played for his father between 1973-75 and then for Frank Cignetti during the 1976 season.

As a junior, he caught 15 passes for 189 yards and one score. Bowden remained at West Virginia for the 1977 season and began his coaching career, serving as a graduate assistant on Cignetti's staff. His interest in coaching only became more intense after that first year as a graduate assistant. His father then hired him as a secondary coach at Florida State for the 1978 season.

That experience confirmed to Bowden that he was in a profession that would be his life's work. The Seminoles posted a 19-4 mark in his two seasons at Florida State.

In 1980, Bowden joined the staff at East Carolina, where he coached for the spring-practice session of 1980. That spring, he moved to Auburn and served as the Tigers' running backs coach for the 1980 season. Among the players he coached was James Brooks, who went on to a 13-year NFL career and is still second in Auburn history in rushing.

In 1981, Bowden returned to Tallahassee as the tight ends coach. In two more years at Florida State, the Seminoles posted a 15-8 mark. The 1982 team ranked #13 in the final poll, claimed a 9-3 record, and won a Gator Bowl championship.

From 1983-86, Bowden served under Steve Sloan at Duke as the quarterbacks coach. He was named coordinator in 1985. It was as a Duke assistant that Bowden made his first trip to Death Valley as a coach. Among the players Bowden tutored was Anthony Dilweg, who went on to the NFL.

After four years at Duke, Bowden became the wide receivers coach at Alabama under Bill Curry. It was there that Bowden refined his offensive coaching prowess under noted offensive mind Homer Smith, then the Tide offensive coordinator.

In 1990, Bowden returned to a coordinator role, serving Kentucky as its offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. That season, he helped the Wildcats to their first upper division SEC finish since 1984.

In 1991, Bowden joined Pat Dye at Auburn. He remained with Auburn for six seasons, his longest stint as a college assistant coach. During his tenure, Auburn had a combined record of 46-20-2, including a perfect 11-0 season in 1993. Auburn had four Associated Press top-25 seasons, including a #4 final ranking in 1993 and a #9 final ranking in 1994. The SEC Tigers were 20-1-1 in 1993-94 combined. Bowden worked under his brother, Terry, for his last four years at Auburn and the Tigers had a 36-9-1 record with both Bowdens on the coaching staff.

Born on July 10, 1954 in Birmingham, AL, Bowden is married to the former Linda Joan White, who he first met when the two were in school together at Morgantown (WV) High. The couple has two children, Ryan (24), a 2004 Clemson graduate and currently a law student at Regent University, and Lauren (20), a junior at Clemson.