WKU Football publicly announced Tuesday afternoon they hired former Abilene Christian Offensive Coordinator Rick Bowie as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
WKU’s announcement came over a month after Bowies’ hire was initially reported by ESPN College Football Senior Writer Pete Thamel on Dec 31.
Bowie will join transfer quarterback Maverick Mclvor, who he coached at Abilene Christian. As offensive coordinator of the Football Championship Subdivision Wildcats, he orchestrated one of the top offenses in the FCS.
ACU averaged 33.79 points, 165.4 rush yards and 304.21 pass yards per game. Mclvor threw for 3,828 yards and 30 touchdowns last season.
In a meeting with the Herald Sports Staff on Jan. 29, Athletic Director Todd Stewart said the hire followed the same “blueprint” of former offensive coordinator Zach Kittley’s hire, who came to WKU with quarterback Bailey Zappe from FCS Houston Christian.
“I’m not predicting that we have 6,000 passing yards and 62 passing touchdowns,” Stewart said. “But again, I think our mantra has always been really high-scoring, high-octane offense. I feel like we can get back to that.”
The 469.6 yards of total offense per game helped the Wildcats reach their first-ever national ranking at the Division I level. They then won the United Athletic Conference Championship and made the FCS playoffs, winning their first-round game against Northern Arizona.
Bowie also spent two seasons at Valdosta State as the Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach. In 2023, the Blazers made the NCAA Division II quarterfinals where they averaged 36.9 points per game. In 2022 Valdosta State was the only Division II team to rank in the top 25 in both passing and rushing offense.
Sports Reporter Michael Givner Jr. can be reached at [email protected].