Ben Cowins is a former college

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 who played for the University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

 Razorbacks

Arkansas Razorbacks football

The Arkansas Razorbacks football program is a college football team that represents the University of Arkansas. The team is a member of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, which is in Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

 from 1975-1978. He was the University of Arkansas all-time leader in rushing

Rush (American football)

Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...

 attempts (635), rushing yards (3,570), rushing touchdowns (30) and 100-yard rushing games (16) prior to all his team records being broken by Darren McFadden

Darren McFadden

Darren McFadden is an American football running back who currently plays for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League . He played college football for the University of Arkansas from 2005 to 2007...

. While at Arkansas Cowins played alongside Ron Calcagni

Ron Calcagni

Ron Calcagni is a former quarterback for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team from 1975 to 1978. Calcagni was born in Youngstown, Ohio. An All-State in high school, Calcagni was initially recruited by Bo Rein to play for North Carolina State University...

, Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 great Dan Hampton

Dan Hampton

Daniel Oliver Hampton also known as "Danimal" is a retired Hall of Fame American football defensive tackle who played twelve seasons for the Chicago Bears from 1979 to 1990 in the National Football League. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002...

 and record-setting kicker Steve Little

Steve Little (American football)

Steven Richard Little was an American football kicker and punter in the National Football League for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the third-highest drafted kicker in NFL history, with first highest pick being Charlie Gogolak of Princeton University and second being Russell Erxleben...

. Cowins helped Arkansas to a win over the University of Georgia

Georgia Bulldogs football

The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54...

 in the Cotton Bowl

1976 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic was a post-season college football bowl game between the co-Southwest Conference champion #18 Arkansas Razorbacks and the #12 Georgia Bulldogs. Arkansas defeated Georgia, 31-10 in front of 77,500 spectators.-Arkansas:...

. However he was suspended by head coach Lou Holtz

Lou Holtz

Louis Leo "Lou" Holtz is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States...

 for team violations prior to the 1978 Orange Bowl

1978 Orange Bowl

The 1978 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1978, featuring the Arkansas Razorbacks against the heavily-favored Oklahoma Sooners....

 victory over heavily favored University of Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners football

The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

. http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Holtz-s-suspensions-at-Arkansas-part-of-college-928846.php In that Orange Bowl game backup running back Roland Sales

Roland Sales

Roland Sales is a former running back for the University of Arkansas and he was an 11th round draft pick in the 1980 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He only played one season in the NFL, but his career is significant because in the 1978 Orange Bowl, Sales set an Orange Bowl rushing record of...

 set an Orange Bowl record of 205 yards rushing that stood for 20 years. Cowins later played during a tie in the Fiesta Bowl

Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...

 against UCLA. During Cowins' time there, the Razorbacks went 10-2 in 1975, 5-5-1 in 1976, 11-1 in 1977 and 9-2-1 in 1978. http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=6100&ATCLID=923099

Professional career

Cowins was a 4th round pick (94th overall) in the 1979 NFL Draft

1979 NFL Draft

The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979...

 by the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 but was then signed by the Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

. Despite his success in college, Cowins professional career never really took off. He was released by the Chiefs after only one season, and he played in three games in the 1980 season

1980 CFL season

The 1980 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 27th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 23rd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1980:...

 for the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

's Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

. He rushed 28 times for 144 yards and a touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

 as well as five receptions

Reception (American football)

In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...

for an additional 33 yards. After his football career ended he opened a successful brokerage company in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. http://www.manta.com/c/mm8p6d8/ben-cowins-agency