Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler " Bobby " Bowden ( born November 8 , 1929 ) is a retired college football coach who holds the NCAA record for most career wins and bowl wins by a Division I FBS coach . He coached the Florida State Seminoles football team from the 1976 to 2009 seasons . During his time at Florida State , Bowden led FSU to an Associated Press and Coaches Poll National Title in 1993 and a BCS National Championship in 1999 , as well as twelve Atlantic Coast Conference championships since FSU joined the conference in 1991 . After a difficult 2009 season and amid questioning fans , Bowden announced his retirement from FSU on December 1 , 2009 , just weeks after his 80th birthday . His final coaching appearance was the 2010 Gator Bowl game on January 1 , 2010 , with a 33 – 21 victory over his former program , West Virginia . Bowden finished his career first in all - time wins by a Division I - FBS coach with 389 wins . A March 6 , 2009 NCAA ruling requiring Florida State to " vacate wins for any games in which an ineligible player participated , " threatening to remove as many as 14 of Bowden ' s wins from the 2006 and 2007 seasons in relation to an academic scandal ; Florida State appealed the ruling . The NCAA upheld the ruling on January 5 , 2010 . Upon final investigation by Florida State University it was determined that Bowden was to vacate 12 wins , bringing his final career record to 377 – 129 – 4 . At the time , this placed him second to Joe Paterno , coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions . However , sanctions handed down by the NCAA as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal caused all of Paterno ' s wins from 1998 to 2011 to be vacated , reducing his total to 298 . Youth and early life . Born in Birmingham , Alabama , Bowden spent a portion of his childhood in bed , sick . Bowden is the son of Bob Bowden and Sunset ( née Cleckler ) Bowden . When he was 13 years old , Bowden was diagnosed with rheumatic fever . After a six month hospital stay , Bowden was confined to his bed at home for just over a year with nothing more than his imagination to pass the time . It was listening to World War II reports on the radio that began Bowden ' s interest in the war , an interest he still has to this day . It was also around this time that his love for football increased , as he would listen to University of Alabama football on Saturday mornings . Bowden was an outstanding football player at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham , and went on to play for the University of Alabama as a quarterback , fulfilling a lifelong dream to play for the Crimson Tide . He then returned to Birmingham and married his high school sweetheart , Ann Estock , on April 1 , 1949 . Today , the couple have six children and 21 grandchildren . Bobby transferred to Howard College ( now Samford University ) . Bowden graduated from Howard in 1953 . Early coaching career . Bowden served as an assistant football coach and head track and field coach at Howard College ( now known as Samford University , currently in the FCS football division ) in Birmingham , Alabama from 1954 – 55 . He left his alma mater to become Athletic Director as well as head football , baseball , and basketball coach at South Georgia College from 1956 to 1958 . Bowden then returned to Howard as head coach , where he compiled a 31 – 6 record between 1959 and 1962 . In 1962 , Bowden went to Florida State University as an assistant coach under Head Coach Bill Peterson . Two other coaching legends who worked under Coach Peterson during this time were Bill Parcells and Joe Gibbs . Bowden left Florida State in 1965 to go to West Virginia University as an assistant under Jim Carlen . When Carlen left following the 1969 season to become head coach at Texas Tech , Bowden replaced him . Bowden then compiled a 42 – 26 record at WVU before returning to FSU as head coach in 1976 . During Bowden ' s first year as head coach at WVU , the football team of the state ' s other top - division school , Marshall University , fell victim to a tragic plane crash . Bowden asked NCAA permission to wear Marshall jerseys and play Marshall ' s final game of the 1970 season against Ohio , but was denied . In memory of the victims of the crash , Mountaineers players put green crosses and the initials " MU " on their helmets . Bowden allowed Marshall ' s new head coach Jack Lengyel and his assistants access to game film and playbooks to acquaint themselves with the veer offense , a variation of the option offense which aids teams with weak offensive lines . Lengyel credits Bowden with helping the young Thundering Herd recover . Bowden reportedly became emotional while viewing the movie " We Are Marshall " , and has said that he was the original candidate for the Marshall head coaching job ultimately filled by crash victim Rick Tolley . Florida State . Bowden became the head coach of the Florida State Seminoles because the climate was warmer than in Morgantown , and because Tallahassee was closer to Birmingham , Alabama , where his mother and mother - in - law both lived . The team had a 4 – 29 record over the previous three seasons , and Bowden planned to stay only briefly before taking a better job , perhaps as head coach at Alabama . During his 34 years as Florida State ' s head coach he had only one losing season — his first , in 1976 — and declined head coaching job offers from Alabama , Auburn , Louisiana State , and the NFL ' s Atlanta Falcons . From 1987 to 2000 the Seminoles finished every season with at least 10 wins and in the top 5 of the Associated Press College Football Poll , and won the national championship in 1993 and 1999 . Personal life . Bowden is a committed Christian who credits his success in football to his faith . Sons who coach . Bobby is not the only member of his family to have coached Division I - A football . His son Tommy Bowden was the head coach at Clemson University . Another son , Terry Bowden , was the head coach at Auburn University , where he was the 1993 Coach of the Year . A third son , Jeff Bowden , was the offensive coordinator at Florida State . All three Bowden men who were head coaches have achieved an undefeated season : Terry in 1993 at Auburn ; Tommy in 1998 at Tulane ; and Bobby in 1999 at Florida State . Bobby ' s 1993 and 1999 Florida State teams were the only ones to win a National Championship , however . Terry and Jeff currently coach at the University of Akron . The Bowden Bowl . As both Florida State and Clemson are in the same division of the Atlantic Coast Conference for football , the two teams played each other every year from 1999 through 2007 in a game that became known as " The Bowden Bowl " . Their 1999 meeting was the first time in Division I - A history that a father and a son met as opposing head coaches in a football game . Bobby held the edge in the series 5 – 4 , with all four losses within the last five games . Tommy Bowden ' s four wins in the series remain the only times a son has ever beaten his father when facing off as head coach in any of America ' s four major sports . One Bowden Bowl was scheduled between Auburn and Florida State for 1999 when Terry Bowden was the coach at Auburn . However , Terry ' s midseason resignation in 1998 ended the possibility of a Bowden Bowl . Another Bowden Bowl was scheduled between Clemson and Florida State in 2008 , but Tommy Bowden ' s resignation halfway through the year ended the Bowden Bowls . Florida State beat Clemson in what would have been the 2008 Bowden Bowl on Bobby Bowden ' s 79th birthday , earning him his 380th career win . Awards . In 1992 Coach Bowden received the United States Sports Academy ' s Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award in recognition of his outstanding achievement as a coach . Awards named after him . On March 21 , 2010 , the Over the Mountain Touchdown Club of Birmingham , Alabama presented the first annual Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award , named in honor of Bowden and the contributions that he made during his career . The award recognizes a coach each year with unmatched success on and off of the field in the same attributes that Coach Bowden showed throughout his career : Preserverance , Attitude , Integrity , and Determination . University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban was the first recipient of the award that was presented by Bobby Bowden himself . The award is presented each year after national signing day and before the commencement of Spring practice . In 2004 , the Fellowship of Christian Athletes presented the first of what is now a yearly award in Bowden ' s name , The National Bobby Bowden Award , honoring one college football player for his achievements on the field , in the classroom and in the community . The award is presented each year prior to the BCS national title . In 2011 , in recognition of his philanthropic efforts with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes , Bowden received the Children ' s Champion Award for Leadership Development from the charitable organization Children ' s Hunger Fund . Head coaching record . In his 44 seasons as a head coach , Bowden had 40 winning seasons ( including 33 consecutive at Florida State ) , and 36 Division 1 - A winning seasons . During the period 1987 – 2000 , Bowden coached Florida State to 14 straight seasons with 10 or more victories , and his team had a final ranking of fourth or better in both of the major polls . ‡ In 1983 there was a forfeit win vs . Tulane . And In 2006 and 2007 12 results , including 6 conference results , were vacated for use of ineligible players . 5 wins from 2006 ( including 2 conference wins ) and seven wins from 2007 ( including 4 conference wins ) were ultimately vacated by the NCAA . Bibliography . Bobby Bowden has co - authored several books , including : Books about Bobby Bowden ' s early coaching years : Books about Bobby Bowden ' s entire career : Books which feature contributions from Bobby Bowden :