Rest in Aloha Coach “Wags”

The Hawaii High School Athletic Association is saddened to hear of the passing of retired high school athletic director, Bob Wagner. Although he is well known for being the head coach of the University of Hawaii football program, he served a decade as the Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii AD, and will always be an esteemed colleague, mentor and friend. Rest in aloha, Coach “Wags.”

Family Statement on the Passing of Coach Bob “Wags” Wagner:

We are heartbroken to share that former University of Hawaiʻi Head Football Coach Bob "Wags" Wagner has passed away after battling recent health challenges. Our loving husband and father touched many lives throughout Hawaiʻi and will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

As the University of Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors head football coach, Coach Wags was a two-time Conference Coach of the Year with a winning record. He led the Rainbow Warriors to their first bowl game in 1989 and their first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title in 1992. He represented the WAC as its champion in the 1992 Holiday Bowl with a win over Illinois. Coach Wags is the only University of Hawaiʻi head football coach to have beaten rival BYU on multiple occasions in 1989, 1990, and 1992. Over the last ten years, he has enjoyed retirement from his service at Kamehameha Schools, where he served as the Hawaiʻi Campus' first Athletics Director at the end of his career.

Coach Wags and his wife, Gloria, loved traveling the world together, and they visited 67 countries throughout their marriage. They also frequently visited their daughter, Christy. As a husband and father, he always took time to celebrate the small, special moments in life that became our family traditions. Admiring beautiful sunsets, listening to the surf, and enjoying our family's favorite desserts together were just a few of them. He loved Hawaiʻi and its people and knew he was loved and admired by family and friends before his passing. He shared in recent days that as a young boy growing up at Newark, Ohio, he never imagined a wonderful life like this.

On Tuesday evening, Coach Wags passed away peacefully at their family home on Hawaiʻi Island. He was 76.  
The Wagner family requests privacy as we navigate our grief during this challenging time.