Catching up with Martinsville alum, ENMU assistant coach Tim Bowlen
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. — Let me introduce you to Tim Bowlen. Tim graduated from Martinsville High School in 2016. While at Martinsville he played four years of basketball and baseball and one year of high school football. I asked Tim what his most memorable game was in high school. “Beating Whiteland for the Mid State championship,” was his answer.
After graduating from Martinsville Tim enrolled at IUPUI in August 2016. He graduated in May 2020 – the year of the pandemic. He was completing his internship in January 2020 until everything closed down at UCLA when the pandemic hit. He was actually at the PAC-12 tournament in Las Vegas waiting for UCLA’s game to start when NBA games were canceled and finally their game was canceled. He drove the team’s gear back to California because they didn’t have a flight back. He spent about another week in California before packing his clothes and anything else he could fit into his car and got out of the state before the lockdown. He encountered a snowstorm through the mountains and for a time it looked like he might get stuck on the side of the road. Luckily he made it to his exit and hotel to bed down for the night. He eventually made it home for what turned into what we call the “Covid” year.
During that “time off”, Tim worked as the JV baseball coach and assistant high school boys’ basketball coach for Martinsville High School and he worked for Twin Lakes Sports Plex in Bloomington. He kept applying for coaching jobs all over and was ultimately hired as a graduate assistant coach at Eastern New Mexico University July of 2021.
Tim now attends Eastern New Mexico University Mastering in Sports Administration and will graduate May 2023. He will make his mark with a Sports Management undergrad degree with a business certificate and a coaching minor and master’s degree in sports administration.
Tim said he knew he wanted to coach; however, he knew if he played instead of going the route he took, he would not have had the experience as a manager and grad assistant compared to a player. He and Martinsville’s Coach Staggs were right. Although Staggs wanted him to continue to play, they knew this path would help him with his career and future. He started as men’s basketball manager at IUPUI, then left to go to UCLA January 2020 and then to ENMU as a graduate assistant. In his words, “It was the closest thing to sports, and I wanted the business classes to learn something other than sports!”
“College let me participate in college basketball, and a lot of the things I learned there helped me get started in the industry,” according to Tim.
Tim’s most memorable event in college was moving to LA and experiencing high level basketball. He has gained so much experience at ENMU and has many memorable moments. He’s proud of his mark on the defense the team runs and that the team is making history with back- to -back 3.0 team GPA’s since he’s been there. One of Tim’s jobs is to help make sure the players stay eligible to play and keep up with their classes and grades. In addition to this, he is most proud of the defense they are running this year and how much it has caused disruptions to good teams and their offenses.
I asked Tim where he would like to apply for a job after school. “Any place that will take me,” he said. “I want to live in all areas of the country at least once, so I want to go someplace new!”
I asked Tim if he had any other fun facts for me. “The head coach at ENMU was an assistant coach at USI and he is from Indiana!!! Small world for sure! He and the assistant coach have taken me in the past year and a half as one of their own and I am eternally grateful! They are good people!”
Good Luck Coach Bowlen! Maybe we will see you coaching where you once played!
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