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| Chapman athletics photo by Larry Newman |
After 18 seasons at Chapman and over half of a century of coaching, Bob Owens has announced his retirement as Head Coach of the Chapman University football team. He hangs up his whistle as the most successful coach in Chapman football history with more than 100 wins. He will officially retire at the end of June.
"I don't think life is complicated, I think it's very simple. You just do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. I've been blessed," Owens commented while reflecting on his career as a football coach. "How good is God to be able to give you a career like I've had. I've been able to be around special people my whole life. I've been blessed to do something meaningful, engage young people and have an impact on their lives."
"Coach O (Owens) has been a transformative leader for our football program and our entire athletic department," commented athletic director Terry Boesel. "He has turned our program into one of the best on the West Coast with more than just big wins on the field. He is revered by the generation of student-athletes for his approach in developing the football player and the young man under the helmet."
Owens' success on the field speaks for itself. He took over the Chapman program in 2006 – a program that had suffered six consecutive losing seasons in the years prior. He led the Panthers to 13 winning seasons and was 106-63 over his 18 seasons, winning four SCIAC titles. He previously spent seven seasons as the Head Coach at Whittier, winning his first SCIAC in 1997.
In 2019, he led the Panthers to their best season ever, including the only undefeated season and NCAA Tournament win in program history. Chapman went 10-1 in 2019 with a three-overtime victory over Linfield in the NCAA first round and ended the season ranked No. 10 in the D3football.com Top 25, the only time in program history Chapman has been in the top 10.
After a few years leading the Panthers as an independent Division III program, Owens led Chapman through its transition into the SCIAC. The Panthers were immediate contenders and have ended every season with a winning record in SCIAC game. All four SCIAC titles came in his final 10 years as Head Coach, leading the Panthers to a championship season 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2023.
"Chapman is a very unique place. We've certainly watched it grow," Owens added. "It's had great leadership at the administrative level and the athletics department. It's provided us with the tools to do the things that we needed to do to be successful in our football program. It has certainly been the right environment to grow a program."
Owens' tenure has ushered in an era of Chapman football that included 31 All-Region players, six All-Americans and seven SCIAC Athletes of the Year. The Panthers' unprecedented success was also accompanied by multiple John Zinda Character Award winners.
Owens takes a tremendous amount of pride in the off the field accomplishments during his tenure. "Sometimes it can be hard to demand that people be respectful because you can't legislate respectability, but we believe that our guys are respectful. How do you define taking on responsibility? In our program, our guys are expected to take on responsibility, take on challenges and get involved in community projects."
Prior to his successful run at Chapman, Owens spent seven years as head coach at SCIAC rival Whittier. He led the Poets to back-to-back SCIAC titles in 1997 1998 and posted a 20-43 record in his first head coaching stint.
His list of championship teams continue on throughout his coaching career at the high school, college and professional level, In total, Owens has celebrated with 12 championship teams:
- 1979 Offensive Coordinator at Van Nuys High School
- 1989 Running Back Coach at Fresno State
- 1992 – Running Backs Coach with the Sacramento Surge
- 1993 and 1994 – Defensive Coordinator at Chico State
- 1995 – Wide Receivers Coach at Nevada
- 1997 and 1998 – Head Coach at Whittier
- 2014, 2017, 2019, 2023 – Head Coach at Chapman
Owens' lengthy coaching career has included stops at all three levels of the NCAA and a stop at the professional level as part of the World League. His coaching stops include Oregon, Fresno State, Utah State, Chico State and Humboldt State at the collegiate level as well as the Sacramento Surge in the World League.
His head coaching stops in the SCIAC brought him home as he graduated from the University of La Verne in 1970 with a degree in physical education. While at Oregon, he earned his master's in curriculum and instruction in 1974. He became a professor African-American history while at Oregon and a continued as a professor of African-American sociology at Whittier and Chico State.
After a half century of coaching and 19 years at Chapman, Owens simply put how he hopes to be remembered.
"I think my players will think this: One, I did it the right way. Two, I loved them. I respected them. I cared about them. I pushed them in a positive way – not always just by grinding – through nurturing to be the very best that they can possibly be."