Story Courtesy of Western Michigan Sports Information
AUSTIN, Texas - Senior midfielder Anthony Bowie has achieved the highest academic honor a collegiate athlete can earn, as he was named the 2019 Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year for NCAA Division I men's soccer by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday afternoon.
Anthony is the first Western Michigan student-athlete in any sport to earn this prestigious accolade.
"I am grateful for the coaching staff for pushing me on the field and in the classroom," said Bowie. "The faculty at WMU is incredible, specifically, all the professors in the marketing department that have helped me to grow in the classroom. All individual awards come with team success and I am thankful for my teammates that put me in positions to succeed this season."
He became the first men's soccer student-athlete from Western Michigan to earn CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America® accolades last season. Defender Zach Bock and midfielder Brandon Bye are the only previous WMU men's soccer CoSIDA Academic All-America® honorees, having been named to the Second Team and Third Team respectively in 2017. CoSIDA began awarding men's soccer athletes for Academic All-America® in 2001.
Bowie has also earned the distinction as just the sixth Bronco to be named a First Team Academic All-American twice during their career by CoSIDA. He joins Thomas Vandenburg (baseball, 1971 & 1972), Mike Girskis (baseball, 1977 & 1979), Matt Mieske (baseball, 1989 & 1990), Rich Kaiser (football, 1994 & 1995) and Jeff Brink (men's tennis, 1999 & 2000). Western Michigan athletes have collected 29 Academic All-America® First Team accolades, dating back to 1970.
"Anthony is an impressive young man, is extremely self-motivated, and willing to tackle any challenge or accomplish any goal," said head coach Chad Wiseman. "He is someone that you are proud to call your friend, classmate, or teammate. I am exceedingly proud of the career Anthony has had and the person he has become. I want to sincerely thank him for all of his hard work, dedication and commitment to Western Michigan Athletics."
A native of Grand Rapids, Mich., Bowie enjoyed his most successful season on the pitch for the Broncos in 2019, scoring a career-best six goals, to go along with three assists. Anthony recorded a career game-high five points (2g/1a) in a 4-0 victory against Niagara on September 2.
He received Mid-American Conference Player of the Week honors twice (September 10 & October 8) and was named to the All-MAC Second Team at the end of the season for his efforts. His four game-winning goals tied Jorge Gonzalez of SIU Edwardsville for the conference lead in that category.
Anthony was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week twice and the College Soccer News National Team of the Week once during his senior campaign.
Bowie finished his athletic career in Kalamazoo with 33 points (12g/9a) in 74 matches, making 56 overall starts. He attempted 147 total shots, ranking him fourth all-time in program history.
Anthony has excelled in the classroom, maintaining an outstanding 4.0 GPA. He will graduate this month with a bachelor's degree in sales and business marketing.
Bowie is no stranger to academic achievements, having earned both Academic All-MAC and MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete accolades in 2017 and 2018. He was also named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-North/Central Region Second Team last season.
"Anthony has had one of the best all-around career's in the history of WMU Athletics," Wiseman stated. "He is a winner on the field, in the classroom, within our athletic department and throughout our great Kalamazoo community. It's hard to believe his career at WMU is over, but I know he is going to have an even bigger impact as an alumnus."
