Pat Bowlen enters his 29th year as President and CEO of the Denver Broncos in 2012, and his tenure of ownership is indelibly stamped as one of the most successful periods for any team in National Football League history.
Still the only two-decade owner of a major league sports team in Colorado history, Mr. Bowlen presides over a franchise that is one of the crown jewels among NFL clubs. By any definition, the Broncos are at the pinnacle of professional sports franchises.
The Denver Broncos are the soul of the city, Mr. Bowlen serves as the owner and steward of this sterling franchise, and the legend of both team and owner are marked by achievement and success at every level. Whether judged by the measure of wins and championships, attendance, national television exposure, or by his and the Broncos’ reputation locally and throughout the NFL, there are few parallels in the world of professional sports.
The Denver Broncos have grown from being Denver’s first major league franchise in 1960 to Colorado’s state religion, and Mr. Bowlen wants to continue that fervor for the coming season.
The Broncos’ President and CEO has fashioned a powerful reputation among his peers as a bold, dynamic leader who is single-minded in his pursuit of excellence, whether representing the Broncos, the city of Denver, the state of Colorado or the National Football League.
His status and reputation as an owner were recognized within the state on April 10, 2007, when Mr. Bowlen was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
For many years, Mr. Bowlen’s reputation as an outstanding owner has been well known nationally. In 1987, he finished second in The Sporting News Executive of the Year balloting. In December 2000, ESPN conducted a fan poll asking which NFL owner would be the best for which to play. Mr. Bowlen finished first among all NFL owners with 44.7 percent of the more than 60,000 votes cast. Mr. Bowlen has been well respected for many years by fans, players, coaches, his peers and NFL executives.
Mr. Bowlen presides over a franchise that by any standard has been one of the NFL’s most successful in his more than two decades of club ownership (1984-2012).
Pat Bowlen was introduced as the majority owner of the Denver Broncos on March 23, 1984, and that announcement triggered a new era in franchise history. Mr. Bowlen and the Bowlen family acquired 100 percent ownership of the Broncos in July 1985, and currently his brother John Bowlen owns a minority interest in the Broncos.
Mr. Bowlen immediately put his own mark on the Broncos, establishing a solid administration and creating a positive atmosphere that was a major factor in the team’s success both on and off the field.
Champions are built from the top, and Pat Bowlen is a model of leadership in the scope of his drive and commitment. “I want us to be number one in everything,” Mr. Bowlen has often said in a recurring theme that marks his management style. Everyone knows that it is the owner who provides the financial backing that is integral to a championship team, but many fans are unaware that much of the heart, soul and drive of this championship organization comes directly from Pat Bowlen.
He has made all of his managerial moves with one goal in mind—to aggressively position the Denver Broncos for another run at a Super Bowl championship. No one sets higher standards for the Broncos than Pat Bowlen himself, whose goals have always been to have his franchise regarded among the finest in pro sports with victory being the measuring stick for that success. Thus, the ultimate goal of this dynamic and energetic chief executive remains firmly set on repeating the World Championship seasons of 1997 and 1998.
Below is a summary of the Denver Broncos’ success during Mr. Bowlen’s ownership (1984-2012):
• The Denver Broncos won back-to-back World Championships in 1997 (Super Bowl XXXII vs. the Green Bay Packers 31-24) and 1998 (Super Bowl XXXIII vs. the Atlanta Falcons 34-19).
• Denver became the sixth NFL franchise to win back-to-back Super Bowls, joining Green Bay, Miami, Pittsburgh (twice), San Francisco and Dallas. The Broncos became the first AFC team to do it in two decades. New England has since become the seventh franchise to do so.
• When the Broncos won Super Bowl XXXII, they were the first AFC team to win in 14 years and just the second wild card team to win a Super Bowl under the NFL’s present playoff system.
• The Broncos own AFC Championships under Pat Bowlen in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997 and 1998.
• Denver was the only AFC franchise to make three Super Bowl appearances in the 1980s.
• Denver ranks fourth in the NFL in overall wins (279), third in regular-season wins (263), tied for second in Super Bowl appearances (5), fourth in conference championship game appearances (7) and tied for fifth in playoff appearances (14).
• The Broncos have dominated the AFC Western Division by posting more division titles (9), conference championship game appearances (7) and Super Bowl appearances (5) than any other club in the division.
• In addition to winning nine division titles, Mr. Bowlen’s franchise has had regular-season win totals of 14, 13 (three times), 12 (twice), 11 (four times) and 10 (three times). Thirteen of the 14 best years in team history have come during Mr. Bowlen’s ownership.
• The Broncos won an NFL-record seven postseason games in a two-year period (1997-1998).
• The Broncos had 33 wins over a two-year period (1997-1998), at that time the most in football history.
• The Broncos had an NFL-record 46 wins over a three-year period (1996-1998).
• The Broncos became the second team in modern NFL history to go undefeated during regular-season play at home for three consecutive seasons (1996-1998).
• His 1997-1998 teams performed the astonishing feat of going nearly an entire calendar year without a defeat (12/15/97-12/13/98), at that time a league-record 18 consecutive wins.
• In 1998, Denver won a franchise-record 17 games (14 in the regular season), including a 13-0 start that resulted in Denver going nearly an entire calendar year without a loss.
Pat Bowlen also has enjoyed tremendous off-the-field success as well.
• In Mr. Bowlen’s 28 years of ownership, the Broncos have played 28 postseason games, all of which have been sold out.
• The Broncos have sold out every game during Mr. Bowlen’s ownership for a streak of 238 consecutive games (regular season and postseason) that is the third-longest such streak in the league.
• Denver has led the NFL in attendance during Mr. Bowlen’s 28-year period as owner. The Broncos have drawn nearly 18 million fans to their home games from 1984-2012, marking the highest total in the NFL.
• Mr. Bowlen ushered in a new era in Denver Broncos football history in 2001 when the state-of-the-art Sports Authority Field at Mile High opened. Mr. Bowlen contributed more than $150 million to the construction of the new stadium.
• Mr. Bowlen has worked closely with the Broncos’ personnel department in maintaining the club’s roster in the era of free agency that has resulted in unprecedented player stability.
• In addition to his role with the Broncos, Mr. Bowlen was a key figure in securing the league’s labor and TV contracts.
• In his role as Chair of the NFL Broadcast Committee, Mr. Bowlen was responsible for the negotiations on the NFL’s $18 billion TV contract, the most lucrative single-sport contract in history.
• He was responsible for the Broncos’ headquarters, the Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Centre, a 90,000 square foot modern office and training facility located on the team’s 13.5 acre complex in Dove Valley, Arapahoe County. The facility is named after Pat Bowlen’s father, and the Broncos moved into the building on March 5, 1990. Over the past six offseasons, an extensive remodeling and expansion plan was implemented, assuring that the team headquarters would remain at the top level of NFL training facilities.
Pat Bowlen was born in Prairie du Chien, Wis., where he attended high school. He went on to the University of Oklahoma, earning degrees in both business (1965) and law (1968). After successful careers in oil, gas and real estate, he purchased the Denver Broncos in 1984.
He is chairman of the board of the Denver Broncos Charities Fund and in that capacity has donated more than $25 million to charitable organizations in the Denver area since the inception of that fund in 1993. Mr. Bowlen served as the Honorary Chairman of the Colorado Special Olympics for 19 years and was the organization’s Outstanding Celebrity in 1993. Mr. Bowlen has served as the Honorary Chairman of the Stadium Stampede (formerly the Colorado Family Classic) to benefit St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation for 26 years, and this is his 16th year as Honorary Chairman of the Capuchin Friars Brown Robe Benefit fundraising dinner. He also is Honorary Chairman of the Cherish the Children Gala, chaired the 1989 Centennial Scholarship rally at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and was Co-Chairman of the Rose Medical Center Critical Care Campaign from 1986-89.
In addition, Mr. Bowlen is currently a member of the DU Athletic Affairs Committee. His previous DU memberships include the Institutional Advancement Committee, the Institutional Advancement/University Relations subcommittee and the Board of Trustees. He also was named to the Colorado Academy Board of Trustees in 1991. He has been a member of the American Ireland Fund Dinner Committee for the past 20 years and a Trustee for the Irish Community Center for nine years. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Hawaii Maritime Center and was the 1992 honoree at the American Ireland Fund Dinner.
Mr. Bowlen is a member of several other clubs and societies, including the Alberta Bar Association and the Law Society of Alberta. He also was a member of the Young President’s Organization.
Mr. Bowlen maintains an active lifestyle and exercises extensively as part of his daily regimen. He has competed in the Ironman Triathlon—an event in which one must swim 2.4 miles, ride 112 miles on a bicycle and run 26.2 miles, all consecutively—as well as in other triathlon races and several marathons.
