He attended Howard College (now Samford University) where he became a Little All-American. After coaching stops as an assistant at Howard, Florida State and West Virginia, and head coaching jobs at South Georgia Junior College (3 state championships), Samford University (31-6, 2 bowls), West Virginia (42-26, 2 bowls), Bowden went to Florida State as head coach in 1976 and through the 2002 season, his record with the Seminoles is 259-64-4. Seventeen times in 27 years, his teams won 10 or more games in a season, and for 14 seasons finished in the Associated Press' top five. His 18-7-1 bowl record ranked 1st all time, and going into the 2003 season, his 332 collegiate wins ranked him second behind Joe Paterno.
