Ira Bowman

Ira Bowman is in his eighth season at Auburn University and his first as associate head coach. Since his arrival on The Plains, Auburn has been ranked in the Top 11 nationally in seven of eight seasons, made two Final Four appearances (2019, 2025), and captured four SEC Championships (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025). During that span, the Tigers also earned the program’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking and secured a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament following a school-record 32-win season. Recognized as one of the Top 5 high-major assistant coaches in college basketball by MCA.com, Bowman has played a major role in recruiting and player development. He was instrumental in the recruitment and growth of NBA Draft selections Jabari Smith (No. 3 overall, 2022), Isaac Okoro (No. 5 overall, 2020), JT Thor (No. 37 overall, 2021), and Sharife Cooper (No. 47 overall, 2021). Under his guidance, Auburn signed a consensus Top 10 recruiting class and developed multiple All-Americans and conference award winners, including SEC and National Player of the Year Johni Broome. Prior to Auburn, Bowman spent six seasons at the University of Pennsylvania under head coach Steve Donahue, helping lead the Quakers to an Ivy League title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018. He also coached at NJIT, contributing to one of the nation’s notable program turnarounds. A Newark, N.J., native, Bowman played collegiately at Providence and Penn. He earned Ivy League Player of the Year honors as a senior at Penn and finished his collegiate career with 918 points, 228 assists, and 139 steals. Bowman went on to play professionally in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks, as well as overseas in Italy and Australia and in the Continental Basketball Association. He and his wife, Rayna, have one son, Jeremiah, who is a freshman on the Auburn men’s basketball team.