Tom Dowling (American football)

Thomas Walter Dowling (March 8, 1940 – January 7, 2018) was an American college football coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky from 1973 to 1976, Liberty Baptist College—now known as Liberty University—in Lynchburg, Virginia from 1977 to 1983, and Cumberland College—now known as the University of the Cumberlands—in Williamsburg, Kentucky from 1995 to 2002, compiling a career head coaching record of 111–107–4. Dowling was the commissioner of the Mid-South Conference (MSC) from 1995 to 2002.

Tom Dowling
Biographical details
Born(1940-03-08)March 8, 1940
Springfield, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJanuary 7, 2018(2018-01-07) (aged 77)
Georgetown, Kentucky, U.S.
Playing career
1957–1960Georgetown (KY)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1969–1972Georgetown (KY) (assistant)
1973–1976Georgetown (KY)
1977–1983Liberty Baptist
1985–1995Cumberland (KY)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1995–2002MSC (commissioner)
Head coaching record
Overall111–107–4
Tournaments0–1 (NAIA D-II playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 MSC (1987–1988)

A graduate of Georgetown College, Dowling coached for over 30 years on the collegiate level. His coaching tree includes Mike Ayers of Wofford College. Both Ayers' son, Travis Dowling, and his grandson, Ezra Dowling, are named for Dowling.

Playing career

Dowling played football at Georgetown College, serving as co-captain of the 1960 team. He also won the [[River States ConferenceKentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) championship in the shot put while competing for the track team.[1]

Coaching career

Dowling began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, Georgetown College. After four seasons as Georgetown's head football coach, he became the third head football coach at Liberty Baptist College—now known as Liberty University. He led the Liberty Flames in their transition from National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to NCAA Division II competition in 1981.[2]

After Liberty, he moved on to start the football program at Cumberland College—now known as the University of the Cumberlands—Williamsburg, Kentucky.[3]

Later life

Dowling later served as commissioner of the Mid-South Conference (MSC) from 1995 to 2002.[4] He died of pancreatic cancer, on January 7, 2018.[5]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs NAIA#
Georgetown Tigers (NAIA Division II independent) (1973–1976)
1973 Georgetown 3–6
1974 Georgetown 7–2
1975 Georgetown 6–418
1976 Georgetown 7–2–111
Georgetown: 23–14–1
Liberty Baptist Flames (NAIA Division I independent) (1977–1983)
1977 Liberty Baptist 3–7
1978 Liberty Baptist 4–5–1
1979 Liberty Baptist 9–1–118
1980 Liberty Baptist 7–3
1981 Liberty Baptist 1–9
1982 Liberty Baptist 7–419
1983 Liberty Baptist 2–9
Liberty Baptist: 33–38–2
Cumberland Indians (NAIA Division II independent) (1985–1986)
1985 Cumberland 1–9
1986 Cumberland 3–7
Cumberland Indians (Mid-South Conference) (1985–1987)
1987 Cumberland 7–3T–1st18
1988 Cumberland 10–15–01stL NAIA Division II First Round7
1989 Cumberland 7–35–12nd
1990 Cumberland 7–2–14–12nd
1991 Cumberland 4–53–3T–3rd
1992 Cumberland 3–71–45th
1993 Cumberland 2–92–3T–3rd
1994 Cumberland 5–51–4T–5th
1995 Cumberland 6–45–34th
Cumberland: 55–55–1
Total:111–107–4
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References
  1. "Pikes Alpha Lambda Alumni Association Hall of Fame" (PDF). Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  2. "Liberty Football History" (PDF). Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  3. "Liberty Coaching History" (PDF). Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  4. "Georgetown College Hall of Fame Bio". Archived from the original on April 4, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  5. Thomas Walter Dowling
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.