 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 1930 |
| Died | November 29, 2007 (aged 77) |
| Alma mater | University of Tennessee |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1964–1982 | South Florida |
Richard T. "Dick" Bowers (August 9, 1930 - November 29, 2007) was an American college athletics administrator. He was the first athletic director at the University of South Florida (USF) from 1966 to 1982.
Bowers was born in Nashville, Tennessee on August 9, 1930. He attended the University of Tennessee, where he played basketball for the Volunteers from 1949–52. [1] [2] He served as a captain in the United States Army during the Korean War after earning his bachelors in physical education from UT, and then returned to the school for a masters degree in education administration. [3] Bowers later received a PhD in physical education from Vanderbilt University. [4]
After receiving his PhD Bowers taught at King University (known as King College at the time), where he met his wife, Madge, who was also a professor at the school. [4] He and his wife were Fulbright Lecturers at Myanmar's University of Yangon. Bowers later taught at Shepherd University in West Virginia and Central Connecticut State University, before taking a job to teach at the University of South Florida in 1963. [4]
Though he was originally only hired to be a physical education professor, USF president John Allen asked Bowers to become the university's first-ever athletic director in 1964. [1] During his tenure as athletic director which lasted until 1982, Bowers helped to establish the Sun Belt Conference, USF added 13 intercollegiate sports programs and built several facilities including the USF Sun Dome, Red McEwen Field, and a university golf course. Bowers helped put USF on the map by hiring big-name coaches including Robin Roberts for USF's baseball team and Lee Rose for USF's men's basketball team. [5]
From 1983 to 1992, Bowers was a director at the USF College of Business Administration, and he served as an associate dean and professor for the program from 1992 until 2003. [1] [3] [4] [6] He also served as Director of Development at Tampa's Museum of Science & Industry, as well as in leadership roles for numerous local charities. Bowers died at 77 years old of an aneurysm on November 29, 2007. He was posthumously inducted into the inaugural class of the University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009. [5]
Bowers and his wife Madge had two children: Rick Jr. and Delisa. [1] Bowers was the father-in-law of pro-wrestler Mike Awesome.
The University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus is a campus of the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, Florida. Opened in 1965 as a satellite campus of the University of South Florida, it was consolidated with the other two USF campuses as of July 1, 2020. USF's St. Petersburg campus is the only public university in Pinellas County. The campus enrolled 4,455 students during the fall 2019 semester.
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Samuel Ray Graves was an American college and professional football player and college football coach. He was a native of Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he was the starting center and team captain for the Volunteers under head coach Robert Neyland. After playing in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, he returned to Tennessee to serve as an assistant football coach, then left for a longer stint as an assistant at Georgia Tech under head coach Bobby Dodd. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from 1960 until 1969, where he led the Gators to their most successful decade in program history up to that point. While at Florida, he recruited and coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier, who often praised Graves as a role model and mentor during his own successful coaching career. Graves also served as Florida's athletic director from 1960 until his retirement in 1979.
The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 240 undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and is designated by the Florida Board of Governors as one of three Preeminent State Research Universities.
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The South Florida Bulls are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, a non-NCAA sanctioned varsity sport which competes in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association within the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association. The current athletic director is Michael Kelly, who has held the job since 2018. The school colors are green and gold and the mascot is Rocky D. Bull.
Robert Armistead Bryan was an American former university professor, administrator and university president. He was as a professor of English literature and later a long-time professor and academic administrator at the University of Florida, and was appointed as the university's interim president, serving from 1989 to 1990. Bryan also served as the interim president of the University of Central Florida from 1991 to 1992, and interim president of the University of South Florida from 1993 to 1994.
George Frederick Veenker was an American football and basketball coach. He was the head basketball coach at the University of Michigan from 1928 to 1931 and also served as an assistant football coach at Michigan from 1926 to 1929. From 1931 to 1936, he was the head football coach at Iowa State College. He was also the athletic director at Iowa State from 1933 to 1945.
The South Florida Bulls men's basketball team represents the University of South Florida in NCAA Division I basketball competition, where they are currently a member of the American Athletic Conference. They are currently led by head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, who was hired after Brian Gregory was fired following the 2022–23 season. The Bulls play their home games at the Yuengling Center on USF's campus in Tampa, Florida. USF has won two conference championships and has reached the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 3 times in their history, with their best finish coming in 2012 when they made the round of 32.
The South Florida Bulls baseball team is the intercollegiate men's baseball program representing the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. The team competes in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. Founded in 1966, the baseball team is one of the oldest teams at the university. The Bulls have captured eleven conference titles and 14 NCAA tournament appearances. The team plays their home games on campus at USF Baseball Stadium at Red McEwen Field and are coached by Billy Mohl.
The South Florida Bulls women's basketball team represents the University of South Florida in women's basketball. The Bulls compete in the American Athletic Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Bulls play home basketball games at the Yuengling Center. South Florida is coached by Jose Fernandez, who has been with the Bulls since the 2000–01 season. USF has made the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament nine times in their history and won the Women's National Invitation Tournament in 2009. They have won three conference championships, taking the regular season American Athletic Conference title in 2021 and 2023 and the AAC tournament crown in 2021.
Mark Harlan is the athletic director at the University of Utah. Prior to taking the position at Utah, he was the athletic director at the University of South Florida.
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The University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 2009 to recognize and perpetuate the memory of student athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have made demonstrably outstanding and significant contributions to the success, tradition and heritage of USF Athletics, and who demonstrate the character and values that define the highest principles of sport. Induction in the University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame is the highest honor afforded by the USF Athletics Department.
The University of South Florida athletic facilities are the stadiums and arenas the South Florida Bulls use for their home games and training. The University of South Florida currently sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and has 11 facilities in the designated Athletics District on or adjacent to its Tampa campus, one on its St. Petersburg campus, and one elsewhere in Tampa. 18 of the 19 teams have some sort of facility in the USF Athletics District.
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Michael Kelly is an American college athletics administrator. He is currently the athletic director at the University of South Florida, a position he has held since 2018, as well as a member of the NCAA Division I Council since 2021. Prior to becoming the AD at USF, Kelly served in many high level positions throughout college athletics, including as associate commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the chief operating officer for the College Football Playoff. He is the first person to serve as the president of the Super Bowl host committee for three different communities, doing so for Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, and Super Bowl XLI in Miami. He was also the executive director for the organizing committee for the 1999 Men's Final Four, which was held in St. Petersburg.