Athletic Department Adds Three

7/6/2006 12:00:00 AM

EDMOND, Okla. (July 6) -- Central Oklahoma has added former major college standouts Joe Bowden and Chad Davis to the football staff for 2006, while James Downer has been named the school's first-ever fulltime athletic media relations assistant.

Davis, currently serving as offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Yard Dawgz, will coach receivers for the Bronchos and Bowden will handle the secondary after spending the 2005 season as an assistant with the Washington Redskins.

Davis was a Parade All-American at Mira Mesa High School in California and spent two years at Oklahoma before transferring to Washington State. He was a two-year starter for the Cougars, earning MVP honors at the 1994 Alamo Bowl, and played two years in the Arena Football League.

Davis was offensive coordinator at Crooked Oak, Midwest City and Tuttle in addition to serving as head coach at Plainview during a seven-year stint as a high school coach before going to the Yard Dawgz.

Bowden was a three-year starter at OU, earning All-America honors during his senior season in 1991 after finishing with 75 unassisted tackles and two interceptions. A fifth-round draft pick by the then-Houston Oilers, Bowden played nine years and started 139 games in the NFL.

Bowden spent eight years with the Oilers, who eventually became the Tennessee Titans, and ended his career after playing the 2000 season with the Dallas Cowboys. He had coaching stints with two NFL Europe teams and the Buffalo Bills before coaching in Washington last year.

"Chad and Joe both bring a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge to our program," UCO head coach Chuck Langston said. "They are excellent young men and great role models for our team and I'm certainly excited about having them on the staff."

Downer served as an intern in the athletic media relations office the past year before joining the staff full time. He is responsible for assisting in the publication and promotion of UCO's 12 varsity athletic teams and is the primary contact for the athletic website (www.bronchosports.com).

"James has proven in the last year that he is one of the rising stars in the athletic media relations profession and I'm extremely fortunate to have him," said Mike Kirk, UCO's assistant athletic director for media relations. "James has turned our website into one of the best in the country over the past six months and he will help tremendously in getting our teams the publicity they deserve."

Downer played baseball for four years at Millsaps College, earning a bachelor's degree in History in 2002. He worked as an intern for two minor league baseball teams in addition to studying sports administration at the University of Louisville where he worked in the athletic compliance office and received his master's from the University of Oklahoma this spring.

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