‘It’s a legacy’: Sowers, who coached in Super Bowl, returns to GC – Goshen News
GOSHEN — Katie Sowers never held any bad feelings toward Goshen College, despite how her time as a student ended.
That’s what made coming back for the first time since she graduated an easy decision.
Sowers, along with 2001 alum Jason Potsander, were honored with the Champions of Character Award Friday during the homecoming convocation on campus. The respective awards that Sowers and Potsander received are named after Dr. Ruth Gunden and Dr. Roman Gingerich, two people who had a profound impact on Goshen College athletics.
Per the award’s description, recipients are former GC athletes “who exemplify the college’s core values in their lives, work and community service.”
“I remember getting a call for potentially being a candidate for this award, and it was very humbling,” Sowers said. “I remember there was some hesitancy on whether or not I’d accept the award, based on my experiences in the past. And, it was a no-brainer for me. This is a college that I love and I would be honored to accept this award.
“Coming back here has been even more reassuring to me as to why I decided to come here in the first place, even though it had a different belief system at the time. It’s all a process of life and learning, and to see Goshen evolving is exactly what I want out of any school that I’d have my children attend.”
Sowers, who is a lesbian, was denied an assistant coaching position on the women’s basketball team because of her sexual orientation in 2009. Prior to that, she had been a three-year basketball player on the team and also competed in soccer and track and field during her Maple Leaf athletic career.
After that rejection, Sowers turned her attention to football. After playing in the Women’s Football Alliance, she entered the world of coaching, ultimately working her way up to an assistant coach position with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. It was there where she made history as the first female and first openly gay coach to coach in the Super Bowl, which the 49ers went to in 2020 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Because of her historic achievement, the news of her past history at Goshen College resurfaced. The school took the initiative to put a public apology out to Sowers for how she was treated at the time, and President Rebecca Stoltzfus contacted Sowers directly and issued an apology on behalf of the school as well.
“That was probably one of the biggest impacts for me because she wasn’t president at that time, and it was really no fault of hers; there was no reason for her to have to reach out and apologize,” Sowers said. “But for her to publicly come out and apologize from the school showed me so much more about the character of this school and the character of what this school believes in. The ability to accept when we’re wrong and own up to the mistakes we’ve made in the past and know that we’re going to do better — that’s everything I strive to be, and I love that’s what my alma mater sees as important as well.”
After finishing her time with the 49ers, Sowers spent a summer interning with the Chiefs before returning to her home state of Kansas to join her twin sister, Liz, at Ottawa University. While there, she’s been the defensive coordinator for the women’s flag football team, which has won back-to-back NAIA national championships in the sport.
“Winning those two national championships — I see that as a bigger accomplishment than me even going to the Super Bowl,” Sowers admitted. “I think everything happens for a reason. Whether I wish I could’ve been with the 49ers one more year or not, it all kind of panned out the way would best benefit not only Liz and my team, but me personally and my growth.”
Sowers said opportunities to return to the NFL have come up, and she’d have to weigh the possibility of returning to the league if offered a position.
“It is a possibility,” said Sowers on returning to the NFL. “I was going to be on the staff for (Chiefs offensive coordinator) Eric Bieniemy had he gotten a head coaching job, and also with (Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator) Raheem Morris had he gotten one. (Bieniemy) has been a huge mentor for me, and if and when that time comes, I’m going to have to make the decision of if I want to go back or if I want to continue to impact the women’s flag football game. So, I’ll cross that bridge when it happens.”
As for the Champion of Character Award, Sowers sees the honor as something that’s bigger than herself.
“It’s a legacy,” Sowers said. “It’s not about what you do in this life; it’s about what you leave when you’re gone. It’s the impact you’ve made, and for me, I always say that if I’m half the person my mom (Bonnie) is, I will be successful. It’s not about the headlines, it’s about the impact that you make, and that’s what this award means to me.”