Rowland was also the head basketball coach at Bluefield State from 1935 to 1941.
Rowland graduated from William Penn High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and attended Cheyney State Teacher's College—now known as Cheyney University of Pennsylvania—where he played varsity football and basketball and ran track.
There he was member a of the freshmen and reserve football teams and ran track before earning a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts in Education.
Rowland was grade school principal in Mecklenburg County, Virginia before Bluefield State, where he was also athletic director, boxing coach, and assistant professor.
[1] Rowland later practiced law in Harrisburg and was a member of the Pennsylvania Board of Education.