Jan Dowling (born September 26, 1980) is a Canadian-born American college

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

coach and former amateur golfer. Dowling is the head coach of the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

women's golf team and previously served as the head coach of the Florida Gators women's golf team of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Early life and education

Dowling was born in

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto Area, Greater Toron ...

, Canada, and grew up in

Bradford, Ontario Bradford is the primary country urban area of the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ontario, in Canada. It overlooks a farming community, known as The Holland Marsh, located on the Holland River that flows into Lake Simcoe. History The east ...

. She graduated from

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

in Kent, Ohio with her bachelor's degree in leisure studies in 2002.GartorZone.com, Women's Golf, Coaching & Support Staff
Jan Dowling
. Retrieved September 14, 2009. She competed for the Kent State Golden Flashes women's golf team, earning four

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. A person who ...

Playing career

During her collegiate playing career at Kent State University, Dowling was recognized as

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

Player of the Year in 2000. She won the 2000

Canadian Women's Amateur The Canadian Women's Amateur is Canada's annual national amateur golf tournament for women. It is open to women from all countries and is played at a different course each year. History The first championship was held from October 14 to 17, 1901, ...

. After graduation, she was also a member of the Canadian national team for the 2002 World Golf Amateur Championships and was a member of the Ontario Amateur Team in 1999. She also played professionally from 2003 to 2005 and competed on the

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply "Golf" or "NBC Golf") is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ba ...

show ''

The Big Break ''The Big Break'' is a reality television program broadcast by the Golf Channel. The show's premise was to award an aspiring professional golfer exemptions into selected events or full-season exemptions on lower-level tours. The series debuted on ...

''.

Coaching career

The

University Athletic Association The University Athletic Association (UAA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Member schools are highly selective universities located in Georgia, Illino ...

(UAA) announced its hiring of Dowling as the new head coach of the Florida Gators women's golf team on June 15, 2009.Robbie Andreu,
Florida hires women's golf coach
" ''Gainesville Sun'' (June 15, 2009). Retrieved September 14, 2009. Dowling previously served as the assistant coach for the

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

women's golf program for the 2008–2009 season, and three seasons as the women's assistant golf coach at Kent State University from 2006 to 2008. In her first season as Florida's new head coach, Dowling's Lady Gators finished tenth of twelve teams at the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) championship tournament in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and eleventh of twenty-four teams at the NCAA East Regional Tournament in Greenville, North Carolina. In her second year as the Lady Gators' coach, the team showed remarkable advancement, finishing as the tenth best women's college team in the country in the NCAA championship tournament. Dowling became head coach of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

's women's golf team in May 2013.

Head coaching record

Women's golf

References