Wayne State University Athletics

Football 11/2/2024 7:45:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Hall of Fame member Richard Lowry Has Passed Away

DETROIT -- Richard Lowry, who coached the Wayne State University football squad from 1974 through 1979, passed away earlier this week in Bera, Ohio.

Link to obituary.

Lowry compiled a 38-21-1 record in his six seasons with the Tartars, and still holds the highest winning percentage (.642) of any WSU football coach in the 107 years of the program (106 seasons). He inherited a program that had one above .500 record in the previous six years, and guided Wayne State to a 7-3 mark as an independent in 1974. The following fall, the Tartars captured the GLIAC title with a 3-1 league ledger and an 8-3 overall mark. The three setbacks were by a combined nine points. In 1976, WSU compiled an 8-2 overall record with the two losses by a combined nine points. The 1977 team went 7-4, while the 1978 squad was 5-4. His final season in Detroit, Lowry guided the Tartars to a second-place finish in the GLIAC with a 3-1-1 league ledger.

He was inducted in the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.

His HOF bio read: Dick Lowry, a native of Berea, Ohio, served as head football coach at Wayne State University from 1974 through the 1979 season, compiling a 38-21-1 overall mark with a league record of 16-7-1. Before joining the WSU program, he was the offensive coordinator at Akron for three years after serving as a high school coach from 1957-1970 in Cleveland. He was selected Greater Cleveland Conference Coach of the Year in 1964 and 1969 and Ohio Bell Coach of the Year in 1963. During his tenure at WSU, the Tartars won one GLIAC title (1975) and placed second (or tied for second) his final four seasons. He made an immediate impact on the WSU football program, leading the squad to a 7-3 mark in his initial campaign. In the six years before his arrival at WSU, the Tartars had just one .500-plus season. In 1975, he led the Tartars to an 8-3 overall record and a 3-1 league ledger. WSU won eight games the following season (8-2) and tied for second in the GLIAC with a 3-2 conference mark. Wayne State finished second in the conference standings his final three years in Detroit. Following his stay at Wayne State, Lowry then served as head football coach at Hillsdale College for 17 seasons (1980-1996) leading the Chargers to five GLIAC championships and one Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference title. While at Hillsdale, his teams recorded a .701 winning percentage (140 wins, 59 losses, and 2 ties). His Charger squads qualified for five NAIA national playoffs winning the NAIA National Championship in 1985 with an 11-1-1 record. He was voted by his peers as the 1982 NAIA National Coach of the Year after leading his team to a 12-1 overall record. In addition, he was selected conference Coach of the Year six times. During his tenure at Hillsdale, he saw 30 of his players selected as NAIA and NCAA Division-II All-Americans and Academic All-Americans. In addition to his coaching duties, Lowry also taught classes in the Health and Physical Education Department. Lowry graduated in 1957 from Baldwin-Wallace College where he co-captained the football squad, wrestled, and ran track. In 1960, he received a master's degree from Kent State University. He and his wife, Phyllis, had two grown children, Marianne and Reed.

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