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NFF honors UNH’s Bowes

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Jan. 8, 2016) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the 2016 College Football Hall of Fame Class, which includes the names of 14 First Team All-America players and two standout coaches. The inductees were selected from the national ballot of 76 All-America players and five elite coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and the 92 players and 27 coaches from the divisional ranks.

2016 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS

Players:

·      MARLIN BRISCOE – QB, Nebraska Omaha (1964-67)

·      DERRICK BROOKS – LB, Florida State (1991-94)

·      TOM COUSINEAU – LB, Ohio State (1975-78)

·      RANDALL CUNNINGHAM – P/QB, UNLV (1982-84)

·      TROY DAVIS – TB, Iowa State (1994-96)

·      WILLIAM FULLER – DT, North Carolina (1981-83)

·      BERT JONES – QB, LSU (1970-72)

·      TIM KRUMRIE – DL, Wisconsin (1979-82)

·      PAT McINALLY – TE, Harvard (1972-74)

·      HERB ORVIS – DE, Colorado (1969-71)

·      BILL ROYCE – LB, Ashland (Ohio) (1990-93)

·      MIKE UTLEY – OG, Washington State (1985-88)

·      SCOTT WOERNER – DB, Georgia (1977-80)

·      ROD WOODSON – DB, Purdue (1983-86)

Coaches:

·      BILL BOWES – 175-106-5 (62.1%); New Hampshire (1972-98)

·      FRANK GIRARDI – 257-97-5 (72.3%); Lycoming (Pa.) (1972-2007)

“We are extremely proud to announce the 2016 College Football Hall of Fame Class,” said Archie Manning, NFF Chairman and a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Mississippi. “Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments.”

BILL BOWES
University of New Hampshire, 1972-98
Head Coach, 175-106-5 (62.1%)

The winningest head coach in Yankee Conference/Atlantic 10 and University of New Hampshire history, Bill Bowes guided the Wildcats to success and oversaw their transition to the FCS during 27 seasons as head coach from 1972-98. He becomes the first College Football Hall of Fame inductee (player or coach) from New Hampshire.

Bowes became the youngest head coach in school history in 1972. He guided the Wildcats to four Yankee Conference championships, and he strung together eight straight winning seasons from 1974-81 and another nine consecutive winning campaigns from 1983-91. Bowes was named conference coach of the year in 1989 and 1994, and his teams qualified for the NCAA playoffs four times.

Bowes’ honors include twice being named Kodak District I Coach of the Year, AFCA Region I Coach of the Year, New England Coach of the Year and Boston Gridiron Club Division I-AA Coach of the Year. During his tenure in Durham, he coached 1998 Walter Payton Award recipient Jerry Azumah, 12 All-Americans, 69 First Team All-Yankee Conference honorees and six First Team All-Atlantic 10 selections.

He has received many awards for his service and contributions to the game, including the NFF New Hampshire Chapter’s Distinguished Contribution to Football Award, the George C. Carens Awards for contributions to New England football and the Eastern Intercollegiate Officials Association’s Murray Lewis Award for sportsmanship. In 1999, New Hampshire initiated the Bill Bowes Coaches Award, an annual honor presented to a Wildcat senior.

The Blanchard, Pa., native was a team captain for College Football Hall of Fame coach Rip Engle’s 1964 Penn State team, and he was the recipient of the Penn State University Alumni Athlete Award in 2000. Following his graduation, Bowes served as a graduate assistant for one season at Penn State before two seasons as New Hampshire’s offensive line coach. He moved to Boston College with former Wildcat head coach Joe Yukica from 1968-71 before taking the reins at UNH.

Comments from this morning’s press conference:

BONNIE BERNSTEIN: “From 1972 to 1998 at New Hampshire, Coach Bill Bowes — hello, sir — claimed 175 victories, 62% winning percentage, more than any coach in Yankee Conference and A-10 history. First UNH player or coach inducted into the Hall. Have you had a chance to let that sink in yet?”

BILL BOWES: “”I’m not sure it truly has. It was unbelievable when I came home one night and there was a football there. One of the other inductees mentioned that. Of course, I didn’t know what it was. But when I opened the box and saw that I was inducted, I couldn’t believe it. And I still can’t believe it. I think so many times we, as head coaches, get too much credit for what we do. I think people have asked me, what was your greatest skill as a coach? And I really believe that perhaps my greatest skill was in going out and hiring outstanding assistant coaches. And I freely admit that I was extremely blessed with assistant coaches that did a great job for me. Shaun McDonald, who’s currently the head coach at New Hampshire, he sets a record, I think, something like 11 or 12 straight years he’s gone to the playoffs. That’s amazing. Chip Kelly with the San Francisco 49ers; Phil Estes, the head coach at Brown; Mark Whipple, head coach at UMass. I have several former assistants who are currently assistants at the professional level and other major colleges. So, again, these are the guys who do the work. I just sat back and watched them work and reaped the benefits.”

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