Bob Waters
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Robert Lee Waters (June 22, 1938 – May 29, 1989) was an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player, coach, and administrator, best known for his contributions to athletics at
Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded ...
. Waters coached the
Western Carolina Catamounts football The Western Carolina Catamounts football program represents Western Carolina University. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Southern Conference. Since the school's first footba ...
team for 20 seasons (1969–1988), and performed the dual role of
athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...
from 1971 through 1986. According to the university, "the evolution and success of the school's athletic programs, especially its football program, during that period can be attributed largely to his talents and personality".


Early life

Waters grew up in
Sylvania, Georgia Sylvania is a town in and the county seat of Screven County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,956 at the 2010 census. History The area was inhabited for thousands of years by various cultures of indigenous peoples. By the time of Euro ...
, and was a successful athlete at
Screven County Screven County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,067. The county seat is Sylvania. History The county was created on December 14, 1793, and was named for G ...
High School, receiving 11
varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...
s for his participation in three different sports. He initially entered
Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...
in
DeLand, Florida DeLand is a city in central Florida. It is the county seat of Volusia County. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. As of the 2020 ...
, as a freshman
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
and
defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
; but when Stetson dropped the school's football program at the end of his first season Waters transferred to
Presbyterian College Presbyterian College (PC) is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina. History Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by the William Plumer Jacobs. He had served as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cl ...
in
Clinton, South Carolina Clinton is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,490 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Greenville– Mauldin– Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clinton is the home of Presbyterian Col ...
, where he served as a quarterback and defensive back on the college's team. The team was invited to the January 1960 Tangerine Bowl, meeting
Middle Tennessee State Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight undergraduate colleges as well as a college of graduate studies, together of ...
; despite losing by a score of 21–12, Waters was named the game's most outstanding player. Waters was a member of the Mu chapter of the
Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...
fraternity at Presbyterian College.


Professional career

The
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
's
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
and
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
's
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
both drafted Waters in 1960. After signing with the 49ers, Waters finished his four-year career with three touchdown passes and eight interceptions. Waters' four years with the 49ers included one as a defensive back and four as quarterback.


Coach and administrator

Waters changed career in 1965, going to Presbyterian College as an assistant coach in 1966. After two seasons with Presbyterian, Waters moved back to the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
as an assistant at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
. In 1969, Waters took a football coaching job at Western Carolina, bringing in a victorious season for the 1969 Catamounts in his first year, only losing to his alma mater Presbyterian College. Under his guidance, the team made national rankings in 1972 and 1974, and he took the Catamounts to the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game. According to the university's website, his tenure at Western Carolina produced "116 victories, 13 winning seasons and top 10 national finishes at three different levels (NAIA, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division I-AA)". He coached 13
All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
and 36 All-
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...
players. During the 1971–1986 seasons, Waters also served as
athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...
. During his service to the university, he directed Western Carolina's moves from NAIA to
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
, then to
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
, and gained entrance into the
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...
. He helped raise interest in the construction of E. J. Whitmire Stadium in 1974 and
Hennon Stadium Ronnie G. Childress Field at Hennon Stadium is the home of the Western Carolina Catamounts baseball team in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Dimensions The baseball field’s dimensions are down each line, to the right and left center power alleys a ...
in 1986.


Death

In March 1989, during the progression of
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...
(ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), Waters was reassigned from his head coaching position by university chancellor Myron Coulter. Waters died on May 29, 1989, at his home in
Cullowhee, North Carolina Cullowhee
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the
, at the age of 50 following a six-year battle with the disease.


Legacy

In 1988, Waters was honored by Western Carolina, who named their playing field
Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium is a 13,742-seat football stadium in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It opened in 1974 and is home to the Western Carolina University Western Carolina Catamounts, Catamounts college football, football Western ...
. Waters has been inducted into the
South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame The South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame is an athletics hall of fame in the U.S. state of South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Min ...
, the Florida Citrus Bowl Hall of Fame, and the Western Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.


Head coaching record


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Bob 1939 births 1989 deaths American football quarterbacks San Francisco 49ers players Stanford Cardinal football coaches Western Carolina Catamounts athletic directors Western Carolina Catamounts football coaches People from Millen, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Presbyterian Blue Hose football coaches Presbyterian Blue Hose football players Stetson Hatters football players Neurological disease deaths in North Carolina Deaths from motor neuron disease People from Sylvania, Georgia