The Alcorn State University (ASU) Braves’ family mourns the passing of legendary Head Baseball Coach Willie “Rat” McGowan.
On Wednesday, November 6th, Alcorn lost one of the most iconic figures in Braves’ history. McGowan, “The Dean of SWAC Baseball”, coached at Alcorn for 40 years, making him the longest tenured coach in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). While coaching baseball at Alcorn he had numerous accomplishments such as accumulating a total of 711 wins, winning five SWAC Eastern Division titles and being named SWAC Baseball Coach of the Year four times (1978, 1979, 1981 and 1988). The McComb, Mississippi native was inducted into the Alcorn Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. Not only did McGowan serve as Head Baseball coach for ASU, but he was also the Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Linemen and Defensive Backs coach for the football team during his illustrious career.
In 2005, he received several accolades for his hard work and dedication to ASU which included a proclamation from the state of Mississippi, the Alcorn State University Humanitarian Award and the Tom Joyner Award. McGowan retired as Head Baseball Coach in 2009. In 2011, Alcorn named the campus’ baseball complex in his honor.
The Celebration of Life for Coach McGowan will be on Thursday, November 14th, at 11:00 am at New Jerusalem Church located at 5708 Old Canton Road in Jackson, Mississippi.