Liberty Athletics Mourns the Loss of Bob Bonheim

Liberty Athletics mourns the loss of Bob Bonheim, Liberty's first-ever head wrestling coach and an assistant football coach.

Bonheim peacefully passed away on Thursday, September 18 at the age of 95.

Bob Bonheim
Head Wrestling Coach (12 season/1974-86)
Assistant Football Coach: Defensive Line (Four Seasons/1973-76)

Bob Bonheim orchestrated the first true national powerhouse at Liberty, guiding the Flames wrestling program to five straight NCCAA national championships (1977-1981).

The two-time NCCAA National Coach of the Year (1976 and 1981) finished his days roaming the mats with a 118-31 dual meet record, winning at an impressive 79.2 percent clip.

A 2003 inductee into the Central Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, Bonheim coached 35 All-Americans, including eight at the NCAA level. Twenty-one of his grapplers went on to win NCCAA national titles.

Bonheim, who also served four years as a defensive line coach for the football program, helped wrestling move from NCCAA to NCAA Division II, finishing fifth nationally during his final season (1985-86) as head coach in the Flames' third year at the new level.

Bob and Brenda Bonheim
Bob Bonheim was married to fellow Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame member Brenda Bonheim, who passed way in 2020.

Brenda Bonheim was included into the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013, while Bob Bonheim was a member of the inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2009.

Brenda Bonheim helped start the women's basketball (1975-76) and volleyball (1976) programs, serving as both programs' inaugural head coach. She also was Liberty's first-ever Senior Woman Administrator, serving in the administrative position from 1977 until she retired from athletics in 2000.

Liberty Athletics Mourns the Loss of Bob Bonheim

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