“I’ve always tried to serve God’s purpose for my life, on and off the field, and I am prepared for what is to come,” Bowden, 91, said in a statement to theTallahassee Democrat. “My wife Ann and our family have been life’s greatest blessing.”
Though Bowden did not specify his condition, he added, “I am at peace.”
During his 34-season career coaching the FSU Seminoles, Bowden earned more than 350 victories and helped the team win national championships in 1993 and 1999.
He retired from his post in 2009, becoming the second-winningest coach in the NCAA Division I history.
In a statement of his own, Florida State president John Thrasher said he is “deeply saddened” about the news of Bowden’s diagnosis.
FSU athletic director David Coburn said in a separate statement that Bowden “has meant everything to Florida State athleticsand so much to college football in general.”
“He has influenced so many people beyond just the players he coached, and the staff who had the privilege of working with him. He is a part of the heart and soul of FSU, but it goes beyond even that — he is a big part of the history of the game,” Coburn said. “Anyone who has had the opportunity to be around Coach Bowden knows what it is like to know a person who has his priorities in the right order, who loves life and values integrity and honor.”
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News of Bowden’s terminal condition diagnosis comes nine months after the College Football Hall of Famer dealt with what he called a “tough” bout of COVID-19.
In October, Bowden’s son Tommy revealed that his father had “just went through a battle with COVID-19 and God just wasn’t ready to take me home yet to be with him,” theAssociated Pressreported.
source: people.com
