Bowie State has officially introduced HBCU veteran Dawson Odums as its next head football coach.
The program trying to steady itself and climb back to the top of the CIAA after a slide two the back.
The timing makes the announcement even heavier. The hire comes less than a week after the passing of Bowie State Vice President of Athletics & Recreation Clyde Doughty Jr. He was a respected leader whose presence shaped the department and the broader Bulldog community. In the middle of grief, Bowie State is also signaling momentum — and an expectation that the standard won’t slip.
HBCU coach and program looking for fresh starts
Odums arrives with a résumé built on winning and rebuilding in pressure environments. Most notably, his career head coaching record stands at 79–72, spanning multiple stops and including championship-level success.
That track record matters because Bowie State knows exactly what elite football looks like. From 2018 through 2021, the Bulldogs authored one of the most dominant runs in recent CIAA history, They won three straight conference championships, becoming the first program in 30 years to do so. But the last two seasons looked nothing like that version of the program. Bowie State went backward in 2024 and 2025, including a 3–7 finish last fall that helped spark a change in leadership.
Success at Southern, struggles in Norfolk
Odums fits the moment because his best teams were built on the same traits Bowie State fans recognize: defensive toughness, discipline, and accountability. His run at Southern is the clearest proof point. Odums went 63–35 with the Jaguars. He won a SWAC championship, and routinely had Southern in the title conversation.
His most recent stop at Norfolk State didn’t end with the win totals he wanted, but it did include context: Odums opened 2021 at 6–5, giving the Spartans their first winning season since 2007, before tougher seasons followed and the Spartans moved on after four years.
Now, Dawson Odums takes over a Bowie State program chasing its own identity again. For an HBCU with recent championship history, the hire of a championship-level head coach shows a desire to get back there.