Gowan moved to the new Chiles High School in Tallahassee when it opened in 1999 and was head coach for 17 years for the boys and girls cross country and track & field teams. While at Chiles his teams won a combined 11 state team titles in boys cross country; girls cross country; boys track & field, as well as nine state runner-up, 19 regional and 44 district titles. Gowan started his coaching career at Port St. Joe High School in 1986 where he was head coach for boys track & field (13 years), boys cross country (11 years), middle school boys basketball (9 years) and assistant varsity football (4 years). Gowan attended Chipola Jr. College in Marianna, Florida (’82) and Florida State University (’85). At FSU, Gowan received a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a minor in math and science and was a walk-on member of the football team as a wide receiver in 1983. For his career, Gowan’s teams won a combined 102 FHSAA team championships which included 18 state titles, 10 state runner-up titles, 21 regional titles, and 53 district titles.