Craig Bowen (far right) celebrates his Southern University Sports Hall of Fame Induction with his mother, Gwen Bowen, and friend, Demonty Price.
(BATON ROUGE, LA) – The Southern University Sports Hall of Fame Induction ceremony added 22 new members to its roster on Friday, November 3, 2017, at a grand affair held at the Belle of Baton Rouge in Baton Rouge, LA. Among the honorees joining the distinctive Class of 2017 was Craig Bowen, Head Men’s Golf Coach at Chicago State University. Bowen is a Certified PGA Instructor with a wealth of knowledge in leading, instructing and coaching individual golfers and teams, building academic golf programs and working with golf diversity initiatives. Bowen graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, where he was a member of the two-time conference championship golf team. Bowen has more than 32 years of industry experience and is the new President of the Black Golf Coaches Association.
SUSHOF Inductee Craig Bowen (center) is flanked by his son, Brockton and daughter, Britten.
“It feels wonderful to be honored based on my after-college contribution. My work in the game of golf has been a tireless fight to make certain our young golfers have a place to play,” said Bowen when interviewed by this publication.
Among his many other citations and recognitions, Bowen is a recipient of the Outstanding Leader in Golf Award (2013) and, Top African American Golf Instructor (2014) both presented by the African American Golfer’s Digest. Bowen is also an inductee into the African American Golfers Hall of Fame (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and, served as Associate Producer for the documentary “Uneven Fairways”, the story of African American golfers, produced by Moxie Pictures and featuring Samuel L. Jackson and Tiger Woods. Bowen also worked as a chief researcher for the book “Uneven Lies”, a book on African American golf history written by Pete McDaniel.
During a passionate acceptance speech, Bowen greeted and thanked his alma matar—the Jaguar Nation—and gave thanks to his teammates, former coach, and family. In recounting his college years and the strong admonishment of his father, Bowen said, “The best thing he ever did for me as a young man was to make me learn how to persevere and endure.” Listen to Bowen”s acceptance speech.
The entire Class of 2017 honorees into the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame includes:
- D. Barnes (Tennis)
- Al Barron (Football) Honorary Member
- Alex Bookter (Track & Field)
- Craig B. Bowen (Golf)
- Derrick Calvin (Baseball)
- Johnny Duncan (Track)
- Dr. Janita M. Edwards (Golf)
- Jeffrey Faulkner (Football)
- Ignatius Eguabor (Tennis)
- Brian M. Johnson (Track/Basketball)
- Rick Mason (Football/Track)
- Greta Lynn Myles (Golf}
- Solomon J. Ona (Tennis)
- Adekoya Olagbegi (Tennis)
- Leon Rhodes (Golf)
- Melvin Robinson (Honorary Member)
- Dr. David Ponton (Basketball)
- Gregory Thompson (Track)
- Albert Turner (Football/Track)
- Pepsi Underwood (Track)
- Kaisha Weeks (Track)
- Woody Woodruff (Football)
Craig Bowen gives his acceptance speech during the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame Induction.
The Southern University Sports Hall of Fame’s (SUSHOF) is a non-profit organization committed to recognizing the outstanding achievements or service to SU Sports. Its mission is to preserve the University’s athletic history, honor excellence within the game of athletics and promote its values.
The SUSHOF is an educational repository dedicated to honoring outstanding athletes and teams for their athletic performance, leadership, and team contributions while students at Southern University and A&M College.
The SUSHOF recognizes the timeless intertwining of sports into the fabric of everyday life. SUSHOF is devoted to honoring those persons, organizations, and events that have made outstanding contributions through inspiring achievement in both professional and amateur sports, while forever enriching the memories of fans of the Jaguar Nation.
Through its mission, SUSHOF is committed to: *Enshrine athletes, pioneers and contributors of Southern University’s rich sports history. Through enshrinement, honoring those individuals who had exceptional careers as participants, coaches, managers, and supporters. *Honoring organizations prominent in the Louisiana area for contributions to professional or amateur sports. *Exhibiting commemorative plaques of inductees located inside of the A.W. Mumford Fieldhouse on the campus of Southern University.
*Sponsoring an annual banquet for the purpose of honoring new inductees and recognizing the past enshrinees into the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame. *Identifying those long-standing establishments that have served to enhance the sporting experience for fans. *Commemorating defining moments in the history of Southern University and A&M College athletics. *Maintaining fiscal integrity and accountability as an organization.
- USHOF Commissioners
- Charlie B. Granger, Chairman
- Robert Bennett, Co-Chair
- George Williams, Ph.D., Recording Secretary/Treasurer
- Roman Banks, Southern University and A&M College Athletic Director
- Dana Carpenter, Ph.D.
- Matthew Dorsett
- Jubilee Dunbar
- Everett Gibson, Ph.D.
- Barbara Granger
- Angela V. Proctor
- Carmencita Williams
- Carolyn Williams
For more information on the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame call (225) 771-2773.
