Bowen was born in Denver, Colorado and spent his childhood and Stone Mountain, Georgia and San Francisco, California.
[1] After eight years at De La Salle, Bowen became director of foundations and corporate relations at nearby Saint Mary's College of California in May 1995.
[3] From July 2000 to September 2002, Bowen was associate athletic director for fundraising at the University of California, Berkeley.
After three years with the 49ers, and with the endorsement of the 49ers' former head coach and general manager, Bill Walsh, Bowen accepted the athletic director job at San Jose State University on December 20, 2004, overseeing the San Jose State Spartans intercollegiate sports program for eight years, until 2012.
In 2015, his Memphis contract was extended through June 2019,[4] after he had been rumored to be a sought-after candidate for other NCAA Division I athletic director positions.