FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 3^rd, 2023
 
Portland, Ore. | The Knights community lost a pillar of the Knights athletics family yesterday. Bernie Fagan was born January 29^th, 1949 and passed away on December 30th, 2023 at 74 years old.
 
Bernie was born in Sunderland, England and began his soccer career with his youth team in his hometown before making his professional debut in 1969 with Northampton Town. Fagan moved to the United States in 1974 where he signed on to play for the Seattle Sounders who were new at the time. He began the season in 1975 but was traded midseason to the Los Angeles Aztecs. Over his career, he saw stints as well with the Los Angeles Skyhawks, Colorado Caribous, Southern California Lazers, Detroit Lightning, and finished his career out with the Portland Timbers.
 
After playing, Fagan became the soccer coach we came to know and love. He came to coach at Warner Pacific College in 1982 and remained the coach until athletics disbanded after the 1991 season. Once athletics resumed in 1999, Fagan resumed his role as coach from 1999-2014. Over his long career at Warner Pacific College, he finished with a record of 264-195-38 overall with a conference record of 163-92-14.
 
"Bernie was such a great coach and an even better person," Athletic Director Matt Gregg said. "We had daily conversations when he would get to work about his team. Every time I would see him, he was in a good mood with his two wiener dogs following him everywhere. I enjoyed seeing him at recent WP games. You could see the joy on his face just being back near the pitch."
 
Fagan in his spare time founded the Oregon Soccer Academy which was a successful youth soccer club that fielded select and premier teams. Fagan was also a contributor to Special Olympics for over a decade as the Soccer Director from 1991-2004.
 
"Bernie's legacy at Warner Pacific is undeniable," present men's soccer head coach Troy Ready said. "He led this great program for 26 years and will forever have his fingerprints on Warner Pacific Soccer. Every year that I'm here, I continue to meet alumni who played for Bernie that share incredible stories of their time under his leadership. Our assistant coach, Cameron Marvin, played four seasons with Coach Fagan."

"It's hard to express just how much Bernie has meant to me and my family," Cameron Marvin said. "Both my older brother and I came to Warner over 20 years ago to play for Bernie. We had hopes of playing on the competitive team, but we could have never anticipated just how much our lives would be impacted by his investment in us. Bernie knew how to push us competitively, but even more than his passion for the game, Bernie knew how to laugh. He overflowed with joy, and it was caught by those who had the privilege of calling him coach and friend. I am beyond blessed to have been one of his players, and it is humbling to have the opportunity of continuing to walk in the legacy he left at Warner. I hope my life as a coach impacts the next generation like he impacted mine."
 
Coach Bernie Fagan will be missed by the entire Warner Pacific University community and will never be forgotten for the legacy he built her on our beautiful campus.