Gary Waterman

Gary Waterman is the head coach for St. Francis Xavier University's football team, the St. Francis Xavier X-Men, a position he has held since the 2009 U Sports season. He is a six-time Loney Bowl Champion and six-time Atlantic University Sport Coach of the Year winner. In 2022, he was awarded the Frank Tindall Trophy as the U Sports Football Coach of the Year.

Playing career Waterman played CIAU football for the St. Francis Xavier X-Men from 1988 to 1992. While teaching there, he coached football, basketball, and track and field. While he had 6–2 record and Loney Bowl appearance in his first year in 2009, the team only qualified for the playoffs once in the next four years.

After a return to the playoffs in 2014, Waterman and the X-Men ended a 19-year drought by finishing the 2015 season as Loney Bowl champions in a 14–12 win over the Mount Allison Mounties. He was named the AUS Coach of the Year in 2015. In 2016, the X-Men ended another 19-year drought by finishing the regular season in first place for the first time since 1997, along with capturing their second consecutive AUS title. Waterman was again named the AUS Coach of the Year in 2016, although the team regressed to a third-place finish in 2017. In 2018, the team finished once again as Loney Bowl champions and Waterman won his third AUS Coach of the Year award. The team repeated as champions in 2022 with Waterman winning his fifth Loney Bowl title and being named the U Sports Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.

Personal life Waterman currently resides in Antigonish, Nova Scotia with his wife, Andrea. They have four children and one grandchild.

Head coaching record