Bowden met with the football team and later that year became the starter on the varsity due to injuries, remaining in that position for the rest of his time at Francis Parker.[3] He also played other positions for the team, including on the offensive line and on defense, recording 63 tackles and 6.0 sacks in his senior year.[3][6] He was football team captain and was successful on all 227 snaps in his career; he also played three years of baseball.[6] He was ranked a five-star prospect by Chris Rubio's long snapping camp and by Kohl's kicking.[3] He walked-on to play college football for the Wisconsin Badgers.[3]
Bowden redshirted in 2019, then saw no playing time in 2020 as a backup to Adam Bay.[3][6] He was awarded an athletic scholarship in 2020.[4] He won the starting job in 2021 and appeared in all 13 games that season.[6] He played all 13 games in 2022 and was named a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award, given to the nation's best long snapper.[6][7] He contemplated whether to enter the 2023 NFL draft, but opted to stay in college so that he would be able to graduate.[4] He again appeared in all 13 games, being selected one of three finalists for the Patrick Mannelly Award.[6][8] He declared for the NFL draft after the season and ended with 39 career games played.[9][10] He was invited to the 2024 Senior Bowl.[10]
Entering the 2024 NFL draft, Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked Bowden as the best long snapper available and the only one with a draftable grade.[10] After going unselected in the draft, he was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent.[13][14] He was released on July 23, 2024 and signed back with the Packers a week later.[15][16] Bowden was released again on August 14, 2024.[17]
Jacksonville Jaguars
On November 5, 2024, Bowden was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad, but released a week later.[18][19]