Robert H. Peters, Legendary Coach
R.H. “Bob” Peters was a pillar of Bemidji State University and the collegiate hockey community as a longtime head coach, athletic director, and instructor.
Peters’ involvement at Bemidji State began in 1966 and was woven through its buildings, programs, and teams, specifically its men’s hockey program until his retirement in 2001. The BSU coaching legend mentored Beaver hockey players and led the Beavers to 13 national championships and national prominence in 35 years at the university.
While the early building blocks were already in place, it was not until Peters took the reigns as the program’s fifth head coach in 1966 that Bemidji State hockey began to take shape as a recognizable masterpiece. Although Peters himself would not claim to be an artist, he constructed a dynasty in Bemidji, Minn., which remains unparalleled in the world of collegiate athletics.
Peters entered the college hockey coaching ranks in 1964 as bench boss at the University of North Dakota. During his initial campaign, Peters, the eventual Western Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year, led UND to a WCHA title and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He coached in Grand Forks for two seasons, leading UND to a 42-20-1 mark before making a career decision that would change the face of collegiate hockey.
Peters left the Division I powerhouse in 1966 and took over a small, college program in the early stages of its existence – at Bemidji State. Within two seasons, Peters led BSU to its first national title and set the foundation for what would become one of the most dominant programs in college hockey.
Thirty-five years later, Peters retired from coaching with one of the most impressive lists of achievements in the history of collegiate sports – 744 victories as a head coach, 702 coming at Bemidji State alone to make Peters the first coach to win 700 or more games at a single school, 13 small-college national championships, and still-standing national collegiate records for most wins in an unbeaten season (31-0-0 in 1983-84) and longest unbeaten streak (43 games from Nov. 8, 1983 to Jan. 1, 1985). Today, only five coaches in the sport – Jerry York, Ron Mason, Jack Parker, Red Berenson and Rick Comley – have won more games at the collegiate level. Peters retired in 2001 with a career .694 winning percentage.
Peters is the only coach to win a national championship in three divisions of college hockey (Division II, III and NAIA). Throughout his BSU career, he coached four NHL players, five Olympians and 80 All-Americans.
A 1960 graduate of the University of North Dakota, Peters launched his collegiate career as a goaltender for UND. He coached at the high school level for one season before rejoining the UND staff as an assistant coach.
When he left UND for Bemidji State, Peters, together with his partner, Murray Williamson, founded the Bemidji International Hockey Camp, the first residential hockey camp for boys and later girls. Through the camp, Peters touched countless young lives and put Bemidji on the map as a center for youth hockey development.
Once retired from coaching, Peters remained heavily involved in the sport of collegiate hockey. From April of 2001 to July of 2008, Peters was the commissioner and a founding member of College Hockey America. The CHA was the third conference Peters was involved with as a founding member. With more than four decades of experience in college hockey, Peters’ leadership was invaluable as the CHA evolved.
Organized in 1998, the CHA opened the following year with a full league schedule in the 1999-2000 season. Then in the fall of 2001, under the guidance of Peters, the CHA gained an automatic bid for its tournament championship in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
In addition to appointing Peters CHA commissioner, in 2001 the athletic directors of the league’s member institutions approved the recommendation by the coaches to name the regular-season championship trophy in honor of Peters as the R.H. “Bob” Peters Cup – an appropriate honor capping an illustrious coaching career.
Peters’ influence on college hockey also has stretched outside the arena. He has proven his administrative skills at Bemidji State by serving as athletic director and head hockey coach, and he lent service to several committees. Under Peters’ guidance, BSU hockey progressed from NAIA to NCAA Division III to NCAA Division II, and in 1999, BSU elevated its hockey program to Division I. He served on championship committees for the NAIA and NCAA for over 20 years, and in 2001 was named a Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey. Peters continued to provide support to the Bemidji State athletic department.
Peters announced his retirement from the BSU faculty in 2003 but remained close to the University, its hockey programs and the BSU Foundation in an outreach role. He remained a season ticket holder and frequent visitor to the rink until his death in 2021.
In 2010 in conjunction with the opening of the Sanford Center, the ice sheet was named the Robert H. Peters rink in his honor.
Donors: The sculpture was privately funded by a small group of community leaders and former players who wanted to honor Coach Peters’ legacy to the game of hockey, Bemidji State University and the Bemidji community.
Sculptor: In a career spanning 30-plus years, Nick Legeros has created more than 500 pieces of art out of his Blue Ribbon Bronze Studio in Minneapolis. His sculpture of Coach Peters was inspired by photos, stories and memories of the legendary coach’s iconic pose behind the bench. The larger-than-life bronze bust stands 26 inches tall on a 7-inch base signed in his hand and mounted on a limestone pedestal. The bust marks the main entrance to the Robert H. Peters rink at the Sanford Center.
Sculpture Committee: Sandy Kaul, Marla Patrias, Lou Peters, Jim Scanlan, Cindy Serratore, Tom Serratore, Sylvia Wildgen
Supporting Partners: City of Bemidji, The Sanford Center, Bemidji State University Foundation
Sculpture owner: Bemidji State University Foundation