Lowell Bishop was a four-year track letterman, bronze medalist in the mile at the NAIA national meet in 1963 and a member of Lone Star Conference Championship track teams in 1962 and 1963. After graduating from Bangs High School, where he set a state record in the 880-yard dash in 1959, Bishop turned down Division I scholarship offers to attend Howard Payne to run for the legendary Cap Shelton. As a freshman, Bishop made the Howard Payne two-mile relay that was invited to run at the Coliseum Relays in Los Angeles. In his four years, he participated in many prestigious meets, including the Kansas and Drake Relays. He was on the cross-country team that placed third in the NAIA in 1962. Also in 1962, Bishop was part of the two-mile relay team with Glenn Petty, Frank Santiago and Jack Petty that was undefeated in indoor meets. In 1962, Bishop ran a 4:12.0 mile, the qualifying time for NCAA Division I and the AAU National. It was also the second fastest mile run by an HPU miler through 1963. After graduating from HPU, Bishop coached track at Gatesville, Monahans, Bangs, Abilene and Marathon. Monahans won a state title in 1973 and regional championships in 1973 and 1975. His teams also won 13 track and cross-country district titles in Monahans and Bangs.