Chad Rogosheske is coming home. A former running back and an
assistant coach for the Pipers, the Columbia Heights, Minn. native
was named today to be the head football coach at Hamline.
He replaces John Pate, who was let go after two seasons. Hamline compiled a 1-19 mark under his tenure.
“It’s not often you get to coach at your alma mater,” Rogosheske said. “What attracted me to the job was the same thing that attracted me as a student – the caliber of people at the place. This school has a lot of strengths. I’m excited to work at getting the program headed in the right direction.”
Rogosheske played at Hamline from 1994-97, earning All-Conference and All-Academic honors. Two of those teams finished second in the MIAC. After graduating in 1998, he stayed at HU as an assistant coach to veteran mentor Dick Tressel. When Tressel moved to Ohio State, Rogosheske went to Wartburg to coach for one season before returning to Hamline for five more years.
In 2007, he joined Tressel in Columbus as a graduate assistant to the OSU program. In his three years there, the Buckeyes won the Big 10 title every season and, in 2008, the team played in the BCS championship game. Rogosheske left Columbus for Bucknell, where he has coached the offensive line for the past three seasons.
“He’s bright and energetic. He’s a football guy. It’s his passion,” Tressel said. “But he also understands what a student- athlete is. He will be able to give a good perspective [to a recruit] on the value of a Hamline education.”
Athletic director Jason Verdugo said Rogosheske will assume his duties immediately. “Chad clearly defines what we were looking for in our new leadership for the football program,” he said. “He’s passionate about Hamline University, understands the MIAC, and is well respected among Minnesota high school coaches and our alumni.”
Rogosheske beat out a field of candidates that Verdugo called “impressive ... particularly the four finalists. We had very high caliber nominees for this job.”