Eddie Ray Vowell (born December 13, 1946) is a retired

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach. He is best known for serving as head football coach at Texas A&M University–Commerce from 1986 to 1998. He is second in program history with 73 career wins and led the Lions to the 1990 Lone Star Conference championship and appearances in the

NCAA Division II playoffs The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

in 1990, 1991, and 1995.

Early life

Vowell was born in Oklahoma but was raised in the small Texas Panhandle community of Mobeetie. He graduated from Mobeetie High School in 1965. He then attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1969 and a master's degree in 1978. While at Southwestern Oklahoma State, he was a member of the Bulldogs track team and also was on the dean's list.

Coaching career

Early coaching

After graduating, Vowell coached at several high schools in Texas. He coached

David Bailiff David Edward Bailiff (born May 26, 1958) is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach at Texas A&M University–Commerce from 2019-2022; prior to that he was the head coach at Rice University in Houston, Tex ...

while in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

and coached at Gainesville High School in

Gainesville, Texas Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,002 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Texoma region and is an important Agri-business center. History Founded in 1850, the city of Gain ...

before joining the staff at East Texas State.

East Texas State

Vowell was hired by Ernest Hawkins in 1983 as East Texas State's

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

and track and field coach. He helped lead the Lions to a share of the 1983 Lone Star Conference title. In 1985, Hawkins announced his retirement from coaching and that he would be transitioning to athletic administration at East Texas State. Vowell was hired as head football coach. In Vowell's first two seasons, the Lions struggled, posting 2–9 records in 1986 and 1987, but the 1988 Lion team finished with an 8–3 record and reached as high as #2 in the national polls, before dropping their two final games to lost out on a conference title and playoff bid. Nonetheless, he was named conference Coach of The Year. The Lions regressed to 4–6 in 1989, but then posted a 10–3 season in 1990 and won the Lone Star Conference with a perfect 7–0 record. They qualified for the national playoffs in 1990, losing in the National Quarterfinals, and again Vowell was named Coach of the Year in the Lone Star Conference. In 1991, the Lions finished second in LSC and returned to the playoffs, finishing as National quarterfinalists again and posted an 8–3 record in 1992. After two .500 seasons, the 1995 Lions returned to the playoffs, finishing 11th in the country. Vowell retired at the end of the 1998 season.

Arena Football League

Vowell was an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Storm of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2007 to 2008. He also coached the

Austin Wranglers The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances i ...

as an assistant.

Notable players coached

Bobby Bounds Bobby Bounds (born January 13, 1969) is a former American football quarterback who played two seasons with the Cleveland Thunderbolts of the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at Texas A&M University-Commerce, which was then k ...

, starting quarterback for the AFL's Cleveland Thunderbolts *

Gary Compton Gary Compton (born May 9, 1968) is a former American football wide receiver and linebacker in the Arena Football League and briefly in the National Football League and World League of American Football. Compton played college football at East ...

, wide receiver in the NFL, WLF, and AFL *

Mike Trigg Michael Scott Trigg is a former American football quarterback and head coach in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at East Texas State University. Early years Trigg lettered in football, basketball and baseball at Theodo ...

, quarterback and coach in the Arena Football League * Clint Dolezel, Hall of Fame Arena League quarterback and current coach of the Philadelphia Soul *

Curtis Buckley Curtis LaDonn Buckley (born September 25, 1970) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins. He played college football at K ...

, NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers. *

Kevin Mathis Kevin Bryant Mathis (born April 29, 1974) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at Texas A&M University–Commer ...

, NFL's Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons *

Antonio Wilson Antonio Demarcus Wilson (born December 29, 1977) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 2000 to 2002. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He pl ...

, NFL's Minnesota Vikings and the CFL's Edmontons Eskimos * Cedric Bonner, NFL's Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins * Bo Kelly, fullback in the Arena Football League *

Billy Minor Billy Ray Minor Jr (born June 27, 1970) is a former American football wide receiver. He was in training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles NFL and played in the Arena Football League for the Dallas Texans. He played college football at East Texas ...

, NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and Arena League's

Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to: American football *Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League *Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs * Dallas Texans (arena), 1990–1993 Arena Football League team ...

Personal

Vowell lives in Campbell, Texas, just south of Commerce, with his wife Jan.

Honors

* 2 Time Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year (1988, 1990) * 2 Time Lone Star Conference Champion (1983 as an ASST), 1990 (As Head Coach) * 3 Time NCAA Division II Playoff Qualifier (1990, 1991, 1995) * Texas A&M University-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame (2011)

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vowell, Eddie 1946 births Living people Austin Wranglers coaches Grand Rapids Rampage coaches Tampa Bay Storm coaches Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football coaches College men's track and field athletes in the United States College track and field coaches in Texas High school football coaches in Texas Southwestern Oklahoma State University alumni People from Mobeetie, Texas Sportspeople from Oklahoma Track and field athletes from Texas