September 12, 2006

Former FCA Director Bowman Joins Jim Thorpe Association Staff

Chuck Bowman, long-time executive director of the Oklahoma Fellowship of Christian Athletes, has come out of retirement to become Deputy Executive Director and Chaplain of the Jim Thorpe Association and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

Bowman has been a member of the Thorpe Association and an influence on its growth since its beginning in 1986. He will take a more active part in all of the organization's many programs and projects, but will concentrate most of his efforts toward the new Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame & Jim Thorpe Museum now under development in Oklahoma City a mile North of the State Capitol Building.

A unique feature of the new museum will be its non-denominational chapel and Fellowship of Christian Athletes exhibit. The FCA organization was founded in Oklahoma and "is a significant part of this state's sports heritage," stated Lynne Draper, president of the Thorpe Association. "Chuck Bowman devoted his life to building Oklahoma's FCA and has been a positive influence on hundreds of thousands of this state's people, young and old. He will continue to have a meaningful impact on others, now as chaplain for the Thorpe Association and through his work on the new museum."

Bowman was an Oklahoma University football lineman in 1954-1957, and was head football coach at Tulsa McClain High School before taking over as head coach at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in 1967.

During five seasons, Bowman's teams went 41-8, won two national championships (1967 and 1969) and three bowl games. He was National Coach of the Year in 1967 and 1969. From 1972-2003, Bowman was the Oklahoma Regional and State Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He was instrumental in the formation of the State and National FCA.

Bowman's honors and awards include the Distinguished American Award from the National Football Hall of Fame Foundation, Abe Lemons Award from the Jim Thorpe Association, and the Salt and Light Award from the Christian Businessman's Association of Oklahoma. In 2005, he was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association Football Hall of Fame.