Capital announced the hiring of Chad Rogosheske as the 12th head coach in Capital football's 93-year history. Rogosheske, a former coach at Ohio State, returns to the Buckeye State after spending the previous three seasons as head coach at Hamline, his alma mater
The announcement was made on Tuesday, March 1 by athletic director Steve Bruning. Rogosheske will begin his duties as head coach immediately.
“Words can't adequately describe Chad's hard work and dedication as the leader of our football program that ultimately has resulted in a remarkable culture shift and vaulted our program back to respectability,” said Hamline athletic director Jason Verdugo. “While we are happy that he's found a role that allows him the opportunity to be closer to family, he will be greatly missed. The silver lining is that he will remain involved as a strong alumnus of the university and supporter of Piper football. As we look to the immediate future of our football program, we are excited about the trajectory of the program and believe there is great promise.”
Rogosheske inherited a program that had lost 19 of its past 20 games and led the Pipers to a 10-20 mark in three seasons.
"It is very humbling to have the opportunity to lead the Capital University football program," said Rogosheske. "I have spent a large portion of my career coaching at a small private university in a thriving metropolitan area. You could feel the sense of community and pride once you stepped on campus at Capital and I am excited to be a part of it."
Rogosheske had nearly 10 years of coaching experience at the NCAA Division III level before serving as a graduate assistant coach at Ohio State. From 2007 to 2010, he served on the offensive and special teams staffs for the Buckeyes, who had won three Big Ten Conference titles and in 2008 played in the Allstate Bowl Championship Series national championship versus Louisiana State University. In 2010, the Buckeyes were crowned Rose Bowl champions after defeating Oregon.
While with the Buckeyes, Rogosheske was responsible for coaching specialists and assisted with the offensive line and tight ends. He coached Ray Guy Award semifinalists in both 2008 and 2009, and the 2007 Lou Groza Award semifinalist.
Prior to returning to Hamline, Rogosheske was an assistant coach at Bucknell. From 2010 to 2011, the Bison posted the second-highest improvement in win total in Division I FCS, winning five more games than the previous year. In three years, four offensive linemen were named all-conference selections and a total of 19 All-Patriot League honors were awarded to his teams.
Rogosheske carried that tradition of turning programs around when he earned his first head coaching job at his alma mater. He and his staff saw dramatic increases in roster size, grade point average, retention, home attendance, and overall wins over his three seasons at the helm of the Pipers program.