Bemidji State University said goodbye to a coaching legend and pillar of the BSU community when R.H. “Bob” Peters passed away on December 15. The coaching icon and long-time athletic administrator was 84.
Peters’ impact on the game of hockey, not just at Bemidji State but nationally, cannot be understated. After coming to Bemidji to coach a fledgling Beaver Hockey program in 1966, his influence, leadership and wisdom have impacted the entire community. He mentored generations of BSU student-athletes who went on to grow the sport of hockey and lead their industries and communities.
Almost secondary to his overall importance to the game, during his tenure as BSU head coach he won 702 games and saw 13 seasons end with the Beavers crowned national champions.
Peters began his career in 1964 as head coach at the University of North Dakota. In his first season, he set the stage for his remarkable career, guiding North Dakota to a WCHA championship, a third-place national finish and WCHA Coach of the Year honors. In two seasons he led UND to a 42-20-1 record before moving to Bemidji and changing the face of collegiate hockey forever.
In just two years, Peters guided the Beavers to their first national championship, establishing a dynasty that remains nearly unparalleled in college athletics.
In 2001, Peters retired from coaching with one of the most impressive resumés in the history of college sports: 744 coaching victories — his 702 wins at BSU making him the first hockey coach to win 700 at one school — and still-standing records for wins in an unbeaten season (31-0-0 in 1983-84) and longest unbeaten streak (43 games beginning Nov. 8, 1983).
To this day, only five college hockey coaches have won more games than Peters, and he remains eighth all-time amongst NCAA head coaches with a .695 career winning percentage. He also is the only college coach to lead teams to a national championship game in three divisions — NCAA Divisions II and III and the NAIA. In total, he developed five NHL players, six Olympians and 55 All-Americans.
As an administrator, Peters guided Beaver Hockey’s 1999 transition from small-college power to NCAA Division I, and also championed BSU’s addition of NCAA Division I women’s hockey. In 2001 he was honored as a Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey.
Peters remained heavily involved in college hockey after retiring from coaching. From 2001 to 2008 he was commissioner of College Hockey America, one of three conferences he helped develop.
In 2001, CHA athletic directors named the regular-season championship trophy in his honor, the R.H. “Bob” Peters Cup. In 2010, the ice sheet at Bemidji’s newly opened Sanford Center was named for him as well.
Peters remained close to Bemidji State and its hockey programs after his retirement in an outreach capacity for the BSU Foundation, as a season ticket holder or frequent visitor to the rink.