Dee Dowis (1968-2016) *48

was the quarterback for the United States Air Force Academy football team from 1986 to 1989.

Generally regarded as one of the best option quarterbacks in NCAA history, Dowis finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1989. That same season, he set the NCAA Division I career record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 3,612 (this record was broken by Antwaan Randle El of Indiana University in 2001), became the fifth player in Division I history to both pass and rush for 1,000 yards, was an honorable mention All-American, and was the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He set the NCAA record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a game with 6 (against San Diego State University in 1989). He set the Western Athletic Conference record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a game in the same game with 249. Dowis graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1990 and briefly served as a coach on the Air Force staff. He was inducted into the Franklin County Sports Hall of Fame as a charter member on July 17, 1998. More recently on April 20, 2011, Dowis was selected to be inducted into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame.

He lived Greenville, South Carolina, near Royston, Georgia, where he was born and raised. He worked as a manager for Pfizer pharmaceuticals, and was married with two children. He died in a traffic crash on August 29, 2016, at the age of 48.He was travelling on I-85 in Georgia where he went in the opposite lane and was hit by a vehicle on the drivers side door. Dowis was pronounced dead at the scene. Gwinnett County police say he was not wearing his seat belt.

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