Bobby Bowden Reveals He Beat Prostate Cancer In 2007

Retired Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden revealed to USA Today that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a routine physical in 2007, but kept his condition private out of concern that his medical condition would affect his ability to recruit players to Tallahassee.

"I did not understand the significance of prostate cancer back then," Bowden told the USA Today. "What I knew was when something like that happens to a coach and your opponents find out about it, the first thing they say is 'Don't go to Florida State. Coach Bowden is about to die.'

"If I knew then what I know now, I would have considered it my moral duty to bring it out in the open."

Bowden underwent brachytherapy, a low-dose radioactive procedure that was performed by urologist Joe Camps, a strong safety and Seminoles captain in the mid-1970s, and is now cancer-free.

After a 44-year career that included 377 wins and a pair of national championships (1993, 1999), Bowden retired in 2009.

"There's a saying in my business that there are two kinds of coaches -- those who have been fired and those who haven't been fired yet," Bowden said. "That's kind of like prostate cancer. Every man will have it if he lives long enough."

Bowden will discuss his prostate cancer diagnosis on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday.