Bowes coached at New Hampshire from 1972-98.

Former Penn State Player Bill Bowes Elected to College Football Hall of Fame as a Coach
Bowes played for Rip Engle from 1962-64 and coached at New Hampshire from 1972-98

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Jan. 8, 2015 – Penn State letterman Bill Bowes has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach for his time at the University of New Hampshire, it was announced today by the National Football Foundation. An end, Bowes was a letterman for the Nittany Lions from 1962-64.

Bowes is the 24th member (18 players, 6 coaches) of the Penn State football family to be elected to the College Hall of Fame. Linebacker Shane Conlan was the most recent inductee, in 2014. Bowes will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on December 6, 2016.

Bowes was a team captain for Hall of Fame coach Rip Engle during the 1964 season. The 1962 squad finished 9-2 and ranked ninth in the AP and UPI polls, while the 1963 team was 7-3 en route to a final ranking of 16th in the UPI poll. In his senior season, Bowes and the Nittany Lions finished 6-4 and voted down the opportunity to play in the Gator Bowl despite a stunning 27-0 over second-ranked Ohio State and a 28-0 win over Pitt to end the season. Bowes played in the 1964 Blue-Gray Game.

Following his graduation, Bowes served as a graduate assistant for the Nittany Lions for the 1965 season before joining the UNH coaching staff. Bowes was the recipient of the Penn State University Alumni Athlete Award in 2000.

A native of nearby Blanchard, Pennsylvania and Lock Haven High School, Bowes is the winningest coach in Yankee/Atlantic 10 Conference history, posting a 175-106-5 record during his 27 seasons (1972-98) as the head coach at the University of New Hampshire. Bowes took the reigns for the Wildcats in 1972, becoming the youngest head coach in program history. He led UNH to four Yankee Conference championships and guided the Wildcats to the NCAA playoffs four times.

Bowes coached 1998 Walter Payton Award winner Jerry Azumah, 12 All-Americans, 69 first team All-Yankee Conference picks and six first team All-Atlantic 10 honorees. He earned conference Coach of the Year accolades in 1989 and 1994 and was a two-time Kodak District I Coach of the Year. 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.