Bill Cowher offers a "Blueprint for a Winning Team" at Penn State Behrend September 23, 2010

Super Bowl-winning former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher will share his “Blueprint for a Winning Team” when he kicks off the 2010-11 Speaker Series at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

Cowher will speak in the college’s Junker Center at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 23. The event is free and open to the public. No ticket is required and seating will be offered on a first-come basis.

Cowher, who in 2005 led the Steelers to its first Super Bowl title in 26 years, was the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL before stepping down following the 2006 season. His 15 years with the Steelers ranks ninth in NFL history for longest head-coach service with one team.

During his tenure, Steelers teams earned 10 post-season berths, captured eight division titles, advanced to six AFC Championship games, made two Super Bowl appearances and won one Super Bowl title. Cowher led the Steelers to post-season appearances in each of his first six seasons, tying an NFL record originally set by Cleveland Browns legendary head coach Paul Brown, and is one of only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least eight division titles. Over those 15 seasons, the Steelers tied New England for the league’s most division titles and posted the NFL’s best overall record in the regular season.

Cowher ended his coaching career with an overall record of 161-99-1 (.619); his regular-season (.623) and overall winning percentages are the highest in Steelers history. He now works as a game analyst for CBS Sports’ “The NFL Today.”

Cowher’s Penn State Behrend Speaker Series presentation is supported by the Student Activity Fee, the Division of Student Affairs and the Harriet Behrend Ninow Memorial Lecture Series Fund. Also speaking during the fall semester will be Terry Jones, founder and former CEO of Travelocity.com and current chairman of Kayak.com, on Tuesday, October 5.

For more information about Penn State Behrend’s annual Speaker Series, phone the Office of Student Activities at 814-898-6171.