WINFIELD, Kan. - Former Illinois State football head coach Charlie Cowdrey passed away at his home Tuesday in Winfield, Kan., after a long illness. Cowdrey was 77 years old.
Cowdrey was the head coach at ISU for four seasons from 1977-80, where he compiled a 12-31-1 record with the Redbirds. During his time at Illinois State, he mentored Estus Hood whose No. 8 is one of three numbers retired by the school. Hood went to play seven years and more than 100 games in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers.
He also worked with several coaches during his time with the Redbirds who went on to have successful careers. Ted Schmitz, who serves as a color analyst for Illinois State football broadcasts on WJBC AM-1230 and FM 93.7, served as defensive coordinator under Cowdrey from 1978-80. In addition to Schmitz, Cowdrey helped mentor Randy Ball who went on to post a 98-83-1 record in 16 years as a head coach at Western Illinois (1990-98) and Missouri State (1999-2005).
Following his time with the Redbirds, Cowdrey was an assistant coach for one season at Drake before becoming the head coach at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. From 1983 to 1991, he compiled a record of 59-34-1, taking over the program previously led by Dennis Franchione. After nine seasons at Southwestern College, Cowdrey became the head coach at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, from 1993-95.
Prior to taking over the program at ISU, Cowdrey was an assistant coach at Missouri for eight seasons under Dan Devine and Al Onofrio. He was a member of the coaching staff for Missouri's 1969 Orange Bowl, 1972 Fiesta Bowl and 1973 Sun Bowl teams. From 1966-68, he compiled a 22-7-2 mark at Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College and led the 1968 squad to a 10-0 record, a No. 3 national ranking and a Sterling Bowl bid. One of his six junior college all-Americans at Fort Scott was Ron Bell, who went on to star at running back for Illinois State from 1970-72 and still ranks third on the ISU career rushing yards list with 2,830.
Cowdrey graduated from Northwest Missouri State in 1957 and received a master's degree from Missouri in 1964. His son, Bruce Cowdrey, coached the now-defunct af2 and IFL Peoria Pirates to championships in 2000 and 2002, and still lives in central Illinois.
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