Bob
begins his third full season as the Head Coach of the Vanguard Men’s
Basketball program. Also the Athletic Director at Vanguard, Wilson
coached the Vanguard men on an interim basis for the final third of the
2003 season, and Wilson resumed the head coaching duties in September
of 2003. He has supplied a stable environment to help get the program
back on track after a string of difficult seasons, leading the Lions to
a playoff berth in 2004. Wilson plans to retire from coaching after
this season and put all of his attention, energy, and efforts back into
the Head Athletic Director position in the future.
Wilson has over 23 years of collegiate head coaching experience, not
to mention years as an assistant at various levels. He was the head
coach at Phillips University in Oklahoma for 11 seasons and then served
the University of Hawaii-Hilo in the same capacity for another decade.
He begins the 2005-06 season with an overall collegiate coaching record
of 348-319. Wilson has received NAIA District Coach of the Year honors
four times, and was the Sooner Conference Coach of the Year four times
in the early 1980’s.
The Vanguard Athletic Director/Men’s Basketball Coach earned a
Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wyoming in 1969,
where he was an Academic All-American point guard, and attained a
Master of Science degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 1971.
He has served the NAIA in numerous capacities over the years, including
President of the Men’s Basketball Association, member of the NAIA
All-America Committee, and as National Rater for Men’s Basketball. He
has been Vanguard’s Athletic Director for the past nine years and is
currently the Chairman of Region II within the NAIA.
"Vanguard University is a unique place," Wilson says. "There is a
great sense of community and family. I was attracted to VU because I
wanted to return to a Christian college campus. My nine years of
association at VU have been some of the most rewarding of my
professional career."
Wilson is also the Director of VU’s NAIA Champions of Character
(COC) Program Center. A Certified COC Instructor, Wilson’s vision for
the program directly led to Vanguard receiving a $5,000 NAIA Grant,
sponsored by Buffalo Funds, and a matching gift from the local
Passkey’s Foundation. The two gifts will help Vanguard University
Athletics establish and maintain a quality COC Program Center to
attempt to change the culture of sport in America. Mr. Wilson’s e-mail
is bwilson@vanguard.edu or you can reach him by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 279.
