| Butch Cowell | |
| Birth Date: | 21 July 1887 |
| Birth Place: | Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Dover, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Player Years1: | 1909–1910 |
| Player Team1: | Kansas |
| Player Years2: | 1911 |
| Player Team2: | Illinois |
| Player Years3: | 1913[1] |
| Player Team3: | Pittsburgh |
| Player Positions: | Tackle, end |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | 1914 |
| Coach Team2: | Haskell (assistant) |
| Coach Years3: | 1915–1936 |
| Coach Team3: | New Hampshire |
| Coach Sport4: | Basketball |
| Coach Years5: | 1916–1928 |
| Coach Team5: | New Hampshire |
| Coach Sport6: | Baseball |
| Coach Years7: | 1916 |
| Coach Team7: | New Hampshire |
| Coach Years8: | 1919–1921 |
| Coach Team8: | New Hampshire |
| Overall Record: | 87–68–23 (football) 119–54 (basketball) 17–25–2 (baseball) |
| Awards: | Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1941) |
William Harold "Butch" Cowell (July 21, 1887 – August 28, 1940) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the New Hampshire Wildcats football team from 1915 to 1936.
Cowell was born on July 21, 1887, in Lynn, Massachusetts. His family moved to Clyde, Kansas, where he played high school football. He later played college football at Kansas,[2] Illinois,[3] and Pittsburgh.[4]
Cowell served as the head coach of the University of New Hampshire's football team from 1915 to 1936, except in 1918 when no varsity team was fielded. As a football coach, Cowell led his varsity teams to an overall record of 87 wins, 68 losses, and 23 ties, for a winning percentage. In addition to coaching football, Cowell was also the head basketball coach, head baseball coach, and athletic director at New Hampshire. He was a founder of the American Football Coaches Association and served a term as the organization's president.[5]
New Hampshire's Wildcat Stadium was named Cowell Stadium in his honor from 1952 until 2016. He was a member of the inaugural class of the Wildcat athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.[6] He is also the "Cowell" in the name of the rivalry game with the Maine Black Bears, the Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket.
During World War I, he served as a second lieutenant in the Yankee Division (26th Infantry Division). Cowell, who never married, died on August 28, 1940, in Dover, New Hampshire, at the age of 53 after a two-year illness.[5] [7] He was interred at Maple Grove Cemetery in Randolph, Maine.[8] His brother, Roland Cowell, was also a coach and administrator in college athletics.[9] [10] [11]
Note that New Hampshire did not adopt the Wildcats nickname until February 1926;[12] before then, they were generally referred to as "the blue and white".
New Hampshire had an eight-game schedule planned for the 1918 season,[13] which was abandoned due to World War I.[14]
Source: [15]