Favorite Verse: "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."  - Galatians 1:10

Luke Wagner came to Howard Payne from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio in February of 2018 after serving as the graduate assistant coach for running backs two seasons. Previously, Wagner worked for Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech University.

Since coming to Howard Payne, Coach Wagner has been key in the development of All-Conference receivers Duntayviun Gross and Eric Haverstock in 2018.  Gross led the conference in receptions during the 2018 season.

In 2019, Coach Wagner led the HPU offense from 9th overall in the ASC to 5th in his first year as Offensive Coordinator. That year, the HPU quarterback was named to the D3Football.com National Team of the Week.

Also working as special teams coordinator, he coached an All-Conference punter and kick returner, the returner finished 3rd in the conference with 17.7 per kickoff return. He also coached All-American special teams player Brady Wade who led the nation in blocked field goals in 2018.

For a half year, Wagner was also the recruiting coordinator at Bowling Green. Wagner worked on the recruiting side at Texas Tech from 2014-2015 and with the offensive line from 2012-2014.

A native of Tyler, Texas, Wagner attended Robert E. Lee high school and went on to play quarterback at Texas A&M Commerce before transferring to Texas Tech to work as a student assistant.

Coach Wagner holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Sports Science from Texas Tech University (2014) and a will finish a Masters of Science in Interdisciplinary Gerontology from Bowling Green State University in the summer of 2018.