Coach Terry Bowden was Salem’s head football coach for the 1982-83, 1983-84, and 1984-85 football seasons. Coach Bowden inherited a team that had gone 0-9-1 the previous year. He then recruited effectively to end up winning 19 of his last 25 games. His team won the WVIAC Championship for the second time in 80 years and achieved the same in the next year- the first two straight championships for Salem in its history. His two teams played for the NAIA championships two years and led the nation in offense both years.
His 15 year head coaching record is an impressive 111-53-2 -68% winning record. Coach Bowden was given the challenging job of coaching the Auburn Tigers in 1993. Auburn had always played in the shadow of the Crimson Tide of Alabama whom he defeated two straight years. Coach Bowden, at the young age of 36, and one of the NCAA’s youngest, coaches, went undefeated, untied in his first year with a record of 11-0. He scooped every award in his rookie season. By the end of his second season, he ran off 20 straight wins. He was the very first coach to win his 200th career game by his 40th birthday.
He is currently a sportscaster for ABC, a former ABC in studio analyst, and a motivational speaker. He is an active member of the Salem College Football Alumni Association. He earned a Juris Doctorate from Florida State University. He also did post graduate work at Oxford University. He earned a bachelor’s Degree from West Virginia University lettering two years as a running back. His wife, Shyrll, is a Salem College graduate and they have 6 children.
