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Arizona Athletics dedicated a memorial that was built to honor William "Bill" Lowell and fellow teammates from the 1942 UA football team who served in World War II.

By University Communications
November 23, 2008

Arizona Athletics on Friday dedicated a memorial that was built to honor William "Bill" Lowell and fellow teammates from the 1942 University of Arizona football team who served in World War II.

Lowell and teammates Rue Mattice and Stanley Petropolis all played on the 1942 UA football team, served in World War II and were killed in action. Lowell served in the U.S. Marine Corps and died during the battle of Iwo Jima, a monthlong conflict that killed more than 6,800 Americans.

The memorial was inspired by J. David Lowell, Bill Lowell's younger brother and a generous UA benefactor. Lowell donated $2.5 million in capital funding toward construction of the UA basketball/volleyball practice facility northeast of McKale Memorial Center. 

The memorial – which features a life-size bust of Bill Lowell – is located just west of the entrance to the new Richard Jefferson Gymnasium. 

At the dedication ceremony, the UA ROTC Honor Guard opened the program, which featured remarks by Lowell and UA President Robert N. Shelton, along with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The UA didn't field a football team in 1943 and 1944. David Lowell played one season, for the 1945 squad that went 5-0.

He participated in spring practice the next year, but was ultimately persuaded by the dean of the mines college to concentrate on his studies.

Today he is considered one of the world's leading experts in mining exploration, having discovered more copper ore than any other person in history. He was inducted into the American Mining Hall of Fame in 2002.

Lowell received a bachelor's degree in mining engineering from the UA in 1949 and a master's degree in geology from Stanford University in 1957. He obtained a professional engineer degree from the UA in 1959. He also received honorary doctorates from Universidad Nacional de San Marcos in Peru in 1998 and the UA in 2000.

Lowell remains active in the mining industry. With rapid changes in technology, computer automation and robotics, Lowell and UA faculty recognized the need to help mining executives stay competitive globally. The Lowell Professional Program in Mineral Resources, made possible by a gift by Lowell to the UA College of Engineering, is a distance-based master's program that combines engineering and management courses.

In 2000, David and Edith Lowell donated $1.9 million to the UA College of Science to endow the Lowell Program in Economic Geology, a postgraduate education and training program for geologists in the mineral industry.