Louisiana-Monroe hired former Auburn coach Terry Bowden as its next head coach on Wednesday.
Bowden, 64, has spent the past two seasons as a graduate assistant at Clemson, where he's pursuing a master's degree. He coached Akron from 2012 to 2018, going 35-52 with two bowl appearances.
"We're extremely excited to welcome Terry Bowden to our Warhawk family as head football coach," athletic director Scott McDonald said in a statement announcing the hiring. "He brings a winning pedigree to our program. He has won at all levels of college football, beginning as the youngest head coach in the country in his first job at Salem College, and continued that through his tenure at Samford and Auburn, where he consistently competed for SEC Championships. He followed with success at North Alabama and at Akron, where he led the Zips to their first bowl victory in school history."
Bowden, the son of Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden, replaces Matt Viator, fired Dec. 7 after an 0-10 start to the season and a 19-39 record at the school. Terry Bowden's name emerged last week in the ULM search. The school also spoke with Memphis passing game coordinator John Simon, Louisiana Tech offensive coordinator Joe Sloan, former ULM offensive coordinator Matt Kubik and others.
Bowden coached Auburn from 1993 to 1998, going undefeated and finishing No. 4 nationally in his first season on the Plains. He went 47-17-1 at the school before resigning following a 1-5 start in 1998. Bowden then began a media career, working as an analyst for ABC television and Westwood One Radio, and writing for Yahoo! Sports.
He returned to coaching at North Alabama, leading the program from 2009 to 2011 and going 29-9. Bowden is 175-114-2 overall as a college coach.