Senate Concurrent Resolution 662

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND SALUTING NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE COACH MIKE ROWAN ON THE OCCASION OF HIS INDUCTION INTO THE MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE SPORTS HALL OF FAME.

WHEREAS, Northwest football and baseball standout and longtime Head Softball Coach Mike Rowan will be one of 15 athletic standouts inducted into the 2012 edition of the Mississippi Community and Junior College Sports Hall of Fame on April 24, 2012, in Pearl, Mississippi. The 6th annual induction ceremony was held at the Muse Center on the Hinds-Rankin campus; and

WHEREAS, a 1997 inductee into the Northwest Sports Hall of Fame, Rowan was a two-sport athlete at Northwest from 1975 through 1977. The Senatobia native lettered two years in both football and baseball, earning All-State Honors in his sophomore campaign; and

WHEREAS, Rowan was the starting quarterback for Head Coach A.J. Kilpatrick, leading the Rangers to a combined 14-7-1 record and a pair of state playoff appearances. After a 9-2 sophomore season, Rowan was selected to the Mississippi Junior College All-Star Game. On the baseball diamond, Rowan lettered as a pitcher/outfielder, helping legendary Head Coach Jim Miles' team claim back-to-back North Division Titles and State Championships in 1976 and 1977; and

WHEREAS, Rowan's coaching career began in 1982, earning State and Region Coach of the Year Honors after leading the Northwest Track Team to a North Division, State and Region Championship; and

WHEREAS, he stepped away from coaching for the next 10 years to serve as the Director of Athletics at Baddour Memorial Center where he worked with the Special Olympics; and

WHEREAS, Rowan returned to coaching in 1991 at Senatobia High School where he was the junior high school basketball and football coach and girls' cross-country coach until 2002; and

WHEREAS, the winningest Coach in Northwest fastpitch history, Rowan joined the Rangers' softball staff in 2003 as an Assistant Coach, taking over as Head Coach a year later. Entering the 2012 season, Rowan has amassed an overall record of 223-106 in eight years, earning his 200th career victory over rival Northeast in the 2010 regular season finale. His record has been equally impressive in North Division play, boasting a 108-42 ledger and winning titles in 2007 and 2009; and

WHEREAS, Rowan is married to the former Kathy Thompson of Hickory Flat, and they have two children, Brandon, an Assistant Baseball Coach at Arkansas-Little Rock, and Britney, who is an Occupational Therapist at OT 4 Kidz, LLC in Starkville; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we acknowledge this special recognition which has been bestowed upon this coach and student mentor who enriched the lives of his student athletes and colleagues and has brought honor to his college, his community and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and salute Northwest Mississippi Community College Coach Mike Rowan on the occasion of his induction into the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame, and extend to Coach Rowan and his family our best wishes on this auspicious occasion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Coach Rowan and the President of Northwest Mississippi Community College, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.