Ben Cowins (born April 7, 1956) is a former

college A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

football

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

who played for the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

Razorbacks The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral pi ...

from 1975-1978.

College career

Cowins played alongside

Ron Calcagni Ron Calcagni (born February 6, 1957) is a former quarterback for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team from 1975 to 1978. Calcagni was born in Youngstown, Ohio. An All-State in high school, Calcagni was initially recruited by Bo Rei ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

great Dan Hampton and record-setting kicker Steve Little, and was the University of Arkansas' all-time leader in

rushing Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught. Rushing may refer to: Tactics * Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush. * Human wave at ...

attempts (635), rushing yards (3,570), rushing touchdowns (30) and 100-yard rushing games (16), all of which were later surpassed by

Darren McFadden Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round with the fourth overall pick of the 2008 NFL Dr ...

. Cowins helped Arkansas to a win over the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in the Cotton Bowl. However, he was suspended by head coach

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...

for team violations stemming from an on-campus incident prior to the 1978 Orange Bowl victory over Oklahomabr>
In the Razorbacks' decisive 31-6 victory, backup running back Roland Sales set an Orange Bowl record of 205 rushing yards, a mark that stood for two decades. Cowins later played during a 10-10 tie in the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

. During Cowins' tenure, the Razorbacks went 10-2 in 1975, 5-5-1 in 1976, 11-1 in 1977 and 9-2-1 in 1978

Professional career

Cowins was a fourth-round pick (94th overall) in the

1979 NFL Draft The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astor ...

by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

but was then signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

. Despite his success in college, he was released by the Chiefs after only one season, and he played in three games in the 1980 season for the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. He rushed 28 times for 144 yards and a touchdown as well as five receptions for an additional 33 yards. After his career ended he opened a successful brokerage company in his hometown of St. Louis.http://www.manta.com/c/mm8p6d8/ben-cowins-agency

References

1956 births Living people American football running backs Arkansas Razorbacks football players Kansas City Chiefs players American players of Canadian football Canadian football running backs Toronto Argonauts players Players of American football from St. Louis Players of Canadian football from St. Louis {{runningback-1950s-stub