H*4722 Concurrent Resolution, By Webb, Allen, Allison, Altman, Askins, Bailey, 
Bales, Barfield, Barrett, Battle, Bowers, Breeland, G. Brown, H. Brown, 
J. Brown, T. Brown, Campsen, Canty, Carnell, Cato, Chellis, Clyburn, 
Cobb-Hunter, Cooper, Cotty, Dantzler, Davenport, Delleney, Easterday, Edge, 
Emory, Fleming, Frye, Gamble, Gilham, Gourdine, Govan, Hamilton, Harrell, 
Harris, Harrison, Harvin, Haskins, Hawkins, Hayes, J. Hines, M. Hines, Hinson, 
Hosey, Howard, Huggins, Inabinett, Jennings, Keegan, Kelley, Kennedy, Kirsh, 
Klauber, Knotts, Koon, Lanford, Law, Leach, Lee, Limehouse, Littlejohn, Lloyd, 
Loftis, Lourie, Lucas, Mack, Maddox, Martin, McCraw, McGee, McKay, M. McLeod, 
W. McLeod, McMahand, Meacham-Richardson, Miller, Moody-Lawrence, J.H. Neal, 
J.M. Neal, Neilson, Ott, Parks, Perry, Phillips, Pinckney, Quinn, Rhoad, Rice, 
Riser, Robinson, Rodgers, Rutherford, Sandifer, Scott, Seithel, Sharpe, Sheheen, 
Simrill, F. Smith, J. Smith, R. Smith, D. Smith, Stille, Stuart, Taylor, 
Townsend, Tripp, Trotter, Vaughn, Walker, Whatley, Whipper, Wilder, Wilkes, 
Wilkins, Witherspoon, Woodrum and Young-Brickell
 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO OFFER THE CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES OF THE
 MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA TO HEAD
 FOOTBALL COACH TOMMY BOWDEN OF CLEMSON UNIVERSITY, ON THE OCCASION OF BEING
 NAMED THE 1999 ACC COACH OF THE YEAR.

   03/02/00  House  Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate HJ-1
   03/07/00  Senate Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence SJ-10

TO OFFER THE CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA TO HEAD FOOTBALL COACH TOMMY BOWDEN OF CLEMSON UNIVERSITY, ON THE OCCASION OF BEING NAMED THE 1999 ACC COACH OF THE YEAR.

Whereas, the members of the General Assembly note with pride the remarkable accomplishment of Head Coach Tommy Bowden on being named the 1999 ACC Coach of the Year following his first year of coaching at Clemson University; and

Whereas, Tommy was born on July 10, 1954, in Birmingham, Alabama, and is the son of proud parents Bobby and Ann Bowden; and

Whereas, Coach Bowden is married to the former Linda Joan White, whom he first met when the two were in school together at Morgantown High in West Virginia. The couple has two children, Ryan, seventeen, a tight end on the Daniel High School team in Clemson, and Lauren, fourteen, also a student at Daniel; and

Whereas, when Tommy Bowden approached the 1999 season, he had one simple goal for his first Clemson team -- Improvement; and

Whereas, upstaged by his father once this season, Clemson Coach Tommy Bowden was able to turn the tables on dad. Tommy Bowden, age forty-five, was defeated by Bobby Bowden, age 70, in his father's 300th victory on October 23rd, but Tommy beat out dad for Coach of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference; and

Whereas, the younger Bowden, who went 6-5 to lead the Tigers to the Peach Bowl in his first season, received thirty-five of a possible sixty-eight votes cast by members of the Atlantic Coast Writers Association. Bobby Bowden's team went 11-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation, but he came in second with twenty votes; and

Whereas, Coach Tommy Bowden took over a Clemson program that had gone 3-8 -- its worst mark since 1975 -- but was able to tie Georgia Tech and Virginia for second place in the ACC with a 5-3 league mark; and

Whereas, Clemson was the only team in the nation to play three undefeated teams and had only five home games in Death Valley. Still, the young and inexperienced Tigers were in every game; and

Whereas, the Clemson Tigers also made a four-game ACC win improvement in 1999. It is just the fifth time in ACC history that a team made that big of a league victory jump; and

Whereas, four of the Tiger's five losses in 1999 came by four points or less and three of the five losses came against the only undefeated teams in the nation -- Marshall, Virginia Tech, and Florida State. Two of the aforementioned teams, Florida State and Virginia Tech, clashed for the National Championship -- Florida State won; and

Whereas, Bowden Bowl I, the first-ever meeting between father and son head coaches in college football history, took place on October 23, 1999. Tommy faced his father Bobby's top ranked Florida State team in Death Valley in front of a national television audience. The Tigers lost a tough battle to the Seminoles, 17-14, the closest margin of victory for the top-ranked Seminoles; and

Whereas, making strong improvement in his first year with a program is nothing new for Tommy Bowden. In the two seasons he was the head coach at Tulane, Coach Bowden took a team that had been 4-18 in the two years previous to his arrival, and emotionally and numerically reversed the team's fortunes with an 18-4 record, posted an 11-1 conference mark, and finished the 1998 season ranked seventh in the nation by both polls. Tulane and Tennessee were the only undefeated teams in college football in 1998; and

Whereas, Coach Tommy Bowden's vision and competitiveness has not only produced numerous winning programs, but also the respect of his players, students, fellow coaches, and the dedicated fans of the Clemson Tigers; and

Whereas, the General Assembly, along with the citizens of the Palmetto State, are extremely proud of Coach Bowden, his assistant coaches, and, of course, the fine young athletes which comprise the Clemson Football Team; and

Whereas, it is appropriate for the members of the General Assembly to pause in their deliberations, so that they might recognize the extraordinary achievements of Head Coach Tommy Bowden in his premier season at the Tigers' helm and join Clemson fans in fevered anticipation of next year in Death Valley. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the members of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, offer their congratulations to Head Football Coach Tommy Bowden of Clemson University, on the occasion of being named the 1999 ACC Coach of the Year.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Coach Tommy Bowden.