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Tommy Bowman, BBA ’71
Founders Medal
Tommy Bowman (BBA '71) came to Baylor from his East Texas hometown of Athens. He has said his aspirations were to attend a nearby community college until a chance encounter between Carroll Dawson, a Baylor legend and then-assistant Baylor Basketball coach, and a gas station attendant. Dawson, who was on his way home to Alba, Texas, stopped in Athens, and the attendant sparked conversation after noticing his Baylor parking sticker. The attendant proudly told Dawson that the best player in the state lived nearby, and he soon found himself directing Dawson to Bowman’s house, where Dawson spent the next hour and a half shelling peas with Bowman’s mother as he made the case for Bowman to become a Baylor Bear.
What followed was an impressive college career where Bowman served as a key contributor on a talented team. As a sophomore, Bowman led the team in scoring (13.5) and rebounding (9.4) to earn all-conference and second-team all-district honors. During his junior season, he was second in scoring (15.3) and first in rebounds (10.9) and helped the Bears to a runner-up finish in league play and an overall record of 18-6, the program’s most wins in a season since a trip to the Final Four in 1948.
Off the court, Bowman met his wife, Jackie, at First Baptist Church NBC on Jefferson Avenue in Waco and formed lifelong friendships with his teammates, including David Sibley, B.A. ’70, J.D. ’89, who — long before he served Waco as mayor and state senator — was Bowman’s best man at his wedding in 1969. Tommy and Jackie Bowman remained in Central Texas, becoming leaders in their community and building their family, which includes their son, Tommy Bowman Jr., and daughter, Krystal Agbahiwe. Tommy Jr. is a lead trailer mechanic with AAA Cooper Transportation and a basketball official with the Fort Worth Basketball Officials Association, while Krystal lives in Houston.
Bowman was a manager for 18 years with M. Lipsitz & Co., a scrap metal recycling company in Waco. Previously, he worked for more than 30 years with Central Freight Lines. Community service has been a hallmark of Bowman’s legacy. Thirty years after graduating, Bowman would return to serve on Baylor’s Board of Regents, a role he held from 2001-2010. He also has served on the boards of the American Red Cross Waco chapter, YMCA and City of Waco Parks and Recreation and volunteers his time by serving as a chaperone for his grandson’s school field trips.
On Dec. 16, 2023, local sportswriter Chad Conine released a biography about Bowman’s life and impact. “Tommy Bowman: Answering the Call” (Baylor University Press) details Bowman’s experiences as the first Black scholarship student-athlete at Baylor, while providing an inspiring story of faith and perseverance and what it means to answer God’s call.