Hector William "Hec" Cowan (July 12, 1863 – October 19, 1941) was an American college football player and coach, and an ordained Presbyterian minister.

While at Princeton, he had several games against Pudge Heffelfinger of Yale who said Cowan had "the strongest shoulders and arms I've ever been up against and his stubby legs drove like pistons when he carried the ball..."[3] The 1885 season was notable for one of the most celebrated football plays of the 19th century - a 90-yard punt return by Henry "Tillie" Lamar of Princeton in the closing minutes of the game against Yale.

[1] While there the chancellor at the University of Kansas, Francis H. Snow, began making contact with him in an effort to convince him to come to KU and become the new head football coach.

[8] As a result of him being an ordained Presbyterian minister and his title of chapel director while at KU he was often referred to as Reverend Hector W.

[9] Cowan left his job as head coach at Kansas in 1896, but remained as chapel director, and professor of physical culture for 2 more years.

Cowan later was replaced in his positions of chapel director and professor of physical culture at KU by Dr. James Naismith in 1898.