AFCA honors Owens as Regional Coach of the Year

ORANGE, Calif. – A year of firsts continued into the award season as head coach Bob Owens was honored as the American Football Coaches Association's Region 5 Coach of the Year – the first such honor of Owens' career.

The regional honor added another award to Owens' growing list. He has been named the SCIAC Coach of the Year four times: 1997 (at Whittier College), 2014, 2017 and this season. He led the Panthers to their highest ranking in school history – topping out at No. 12 entering the postseason.

The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association's five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by active members of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.

Owens led Chapman on a historic run into the NCAA Second Round in 2019. He won his third SCIAC title in Chapman's eight years in the conference. He guided the Panthers to their first undefeated regular season in school history, their first 10-win season and their first-ever postseason victory. With the 68-65 triple overtime victory over Linfield, he became the only active SCIAC head coach to win an NCAA Tournament game.

In his 14 seasons at Chapman, Owens has compiled an overall record of 79-50. The historic playoff win also gave him 99 total career wins – all at the NCAA Division III level.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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