Bio

The rise of Chapman football within the SCIAC has been the residue of a very specific plan put in place by Bob Owens when he took the helm of the Panthers in 2006. That plan has led Chapman football to unprecedented success since joining the SCIAC in 2012. Owens led the Panthers into the national spotlight in 2019.

He has been honored with the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year four times and was named the D3football.com and AFCA West Region Coach of the Year following the 2019 season.

Owens' 2019 Panthers reached new heights and finished the season in the top-10 of the national polls after winning their third SCIAC title in six years. Early in the season, the Panthers defeated a ranked team for the first time in school history. They defeated two ranked teams on the way to an undefeated regular season - a first for the Chapman program. The Panthers achieved another first when they were chosen to host a First Round game for the NCAA Championship and made the most of the opportunity with a double overtime win - the first NCAA Tournament win for the program.

The Panthers were poised for another run in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the season for the entire SCIAC.

The all-time winningest coach in Chapman football history, Owens won the 100th game of his career with a 35-23 win over Pacific in the 2021 season-opener. The four-time SCIAC Coach of the Year has led the Panthers to a three SCIAC championships in its first eight years in the conference. Chapman went undefeated in SCIAC play in 2014, 2017 and 2019 to claim the SCIAC titles and appearances in the NCAA Tournament - the only appearances in school history.

Owens' 2017 squad overcame an 0-2 start and put together a dominant 6-0 run through the SCIAC to claim its second conference title. As a result, Chapman's players were selected as the conference's Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.

In 2014, Owens was named Coach of the Year after leading the Panthers to an undefeated conference record and the school's highest ranking in program history (No. 17) en route to its first-ever NCAA playoff berth. After having Chapman one win away from winning the conference in the past two seasons, Owens and his Panthers took home the SCIAC crown in just their third year as a member of the conference. It was Owens' third SCIAC title (two with Whittier).

Chapman is 61-25 since the start of the 2012 season (when Chapman joined the SCIAC) and 47-13 in conference games. Since 2012, the Owens-led Panthers have garnered four SCIAC Offensive Athletes of the Year, three Defensive Players of the Year, two Newcomers of the Year, two Jon Zinda Character Awards and 116 All-SCIAC selections.

In 16 seasons, Chapman has had five All-American selections and 27 players named to All-West Region teams, including a program-best six players in 2019. Owens has also stressed strong academics, already coaching 15 Academic All-District VIII selections and a few dozen more who have been named NFF College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athletes. A handful of former Panthers have signed professional contracts to play football in Europe, Australia and in Arena Football.

Prior to coming to Chapman, Owens served as offensive coordinator at Humboldt State. He was also the head coach at Division III-rival Whittier College, where he led the Poets to two SCIAC championships (1997-98).

Owens has 32 years of college coaching experience, including stops at Fresno State, Utah State and Oregon. He served as the wide receivers coach for Nevada on its Big West championship team in 1995 and helped lead the Sacramento Surge to a World League title as its running backs coach in 1992.

His passing offense ranked in the top-15 in NCAA Division II at Humboldt State and helped the Lumberjacks to a second place finish in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in 2004 - the school's best finish in five years.

A graduate of the University of La Verne, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1970, Owens went on to earn his master's in curriculum and instruction from the University of Oregon in 1974. He served as a professor of African-American sociology at Whittier (1996-2002) and at Chico State (1993-95), as well as a professor of African-American history at Oregon (1972-74). He and his wife, Debby, currently reside in Whittier.