Bowers, who played basketball and baseball at UT, dies

Richard T. “Dick” Bowers, a former Tennessee Vol who was basketball, baseball and golf coach, athletic director and associate dean of the College of Business at the University of South Florida, died Thursday at Tampa, Fla.

He was 78.

Mr. Bowers, who played basketball and baseball at Tennessee in the early 1950s, experienced an aneurism and was rushed to a Tampa hospital late Wednesday night.

He played first base and outfield for the Vols in 1950 and was a 6-foot-3 forward in basketball 1950-52. The 1950 Vols split with Kentucky during regular season and lost to the Wildcats in the SEC tournament championship game.

After graduating from UT, Mr. Bowers served in the U.S. Army Transportation Corps, then coached basketball at King College in Bristol before getting his PHD in business at Peabody College. He coached basketball a year at Shepherd College and three years as baseball and basketball coach at Central Connecticut before being hired by USF.

After coaching the Bulls’ baseball and basketball three years he became athletic director — a position he held for 20 years.

Then Mr. Bowers moved to USF’s College of Business for 20 years, serving as associate dean for development.

He also was active in fundraising for charities in t he Tampa Bay area. A position he cherished most was serving as president for the Gold Shield Foundation, which was founded by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and former Tampa Tribune sports Editor Tom McEwen in 1981. The foundation was established for families of policemen and firefighters who died in the line of duty.

He also established the Dick Bowers Endowed Scholarship Fund for USF’s College of Business Administration in 2003.

Funeral and burial arrangements are incomplete.