Hall of Fame
Bob and Jan Cowan always have been ardent supporters of their alma mater – the University of Idaho, and its athletic teams.
The importance of an athletics program on the image of an institution, however, was underscored in a wave of black and orange that swept through Bob Cowan’s business at the same time Oregon State University started to have success on the football field under former Idaho coach Dennis Erickson.
“We had a number of people who were Oregon State graduates,” Bob Cowan remembers. “In the dog years of their athletic performance, they never had any black and orange showing. But the minute they started to win, you saw it all over.”
Silver and gold were staples in the Cowan wardrobes since their graduations from the University of Idaho in the late 1950s. In a strange way, the orange-and-black display at his offices underscored the Cowans’ commitment to Vandal athletics.
“It convinced me that was the way to go,” Bob said. “That’s why we do what we do.
“(Former UI president Tim) White told me the first year Dennis Erickson came to Oregon State and created a winning program, they doubled their alumni contributions in one year. It convinced more than ever that what I’m say is correct. Even if you don’t have an interest in the athletic program, if you want to better the university, the best way to do it is to give to the athletic program.”
What the Cowans do is legendary in the hallways of the Kibbie Dome. When the stadium is converted from football to basketball, it becomes the Cowan Spectrum because of their generosity over the years.
Bob’s time at Idaho began when he was a freshman football recruit out of Idaho Falls. He said his on-field performance wasn’t up to par and he confessed to lapses in the classroom as well. After that freshman year, he was off to the Army for two years and came back with the discipline needed to regroup from an inauspicious academic start.
Jan, from Pocatello, followed an older sister north to Moscow for college. When she arrived, she had the fortune to have a built in family away from home – Dr. Leon Green, who became the athletics director of athletics for the Vandals after a stellar playing career at Idaho. Green, a charter member of the Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame, persuaded Jan to found the Vandalettes – a “girls drill team” in 1956.
They fondly remember those days as college students – and the ensuing years as well.
“I remember some of the early games when we were at Neale Stadium,” Bob says, “and were playing Oregon and Oregon State and some of the other big schools. I don’t remember watching us when we won a game very often but we sure gave them a hell of a tussle and we did it with almost nothing.”
They also cherish the memories of the Don Monson coached basketball teams – in particular the 1982 group that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA basketball tournament.
“That was certainly a highlight,” he recalls.
So, too, are the friendships that have grown over the years of continuous support.
“It’s fun to come and watch the games and visit with our friends,” he said. “That’s what we like.”
Of late, they’ve been able to watch grandsons Bobby, an All-American punter who graduated in 2013, and Trent, now a receiver for the Vandals. They are just two in a line of Cowans to attend Idaho. That certainly adds a personal touch to their generosity.
“When you see school that have good, principled athletic programs,” Bob said, “you see strong, very strong, alumni support. It is why we do what we do – that is to give as much as we can to the University but we direct it toward the athletic programs because that that is what brings the alumni back together.”
