Roger Chandler - Staff Directory - Michigan State University Athletics

Staff Directory

Roger Chandler

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
Phone Number:
432-0724

Roger Chandler, who enters his 28th year on the Spartan wrestling staff, is in his ninth season as head coach for the 2024-25 season. He was named head coach by Michigan State Athletics Director Mark Hollis on June 30, 2015.

Since taking over as head coach following the 2015-16 season, Chandler has taken 30 Spartan wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. Chandler is the ninth coach in the history of the program, which dates back to 1886 and has generated 25 NCAA Champions, 68 Big Ten Champions, eight Big Ten Championships and one NCAA Championship.

MSU posted another 10 win season in Chandler's seventh season as head coach in 2022-23 going 10-6. Chandler secured the 50th dual victory of his coaching career in the final home dual of the season on Feb. 10, 2023 as the Spartans defeated No. 22-ranked Indiana. He became just the fourth head coach in Michigan State program history to reach the 50-win threshold, joining Spartan legends in Grady Peninger, Tom Minkel and Fendley Collins. Chandler also became the second-fastest head coach to reach that accomplishment, doing so in under seven seasons. MSU has experienced a resurgence in dual success under Chandler's guidance, going from 2-11 in the season prior to his assumption of the top job to improving the team's season win tally in each of the next three years. Chase Saldate, Layne Malczewski and Cameron Caffey all reached the podium at the B1G Championships, with Saldate finishing a team-best fifth at 157 pounds. Caleb Fish joined those three as a qualifier for the NCAA Championships as MSU sent four wrestlers to Tulsa. Fish was the lowest seeded wrestler to reach the quarterfinals after he scored an upset over fourth-seeded Julian Ramirez of Cornell in the opening round. Fish was also the lowest seeded wrestler (29th) to advance to the quarters since the NCAA started seeding every wrestler in 2019. Saldate and Fish ultimately each finished one win shy of All-American status, falling in the blood round.

Michigan State posted its best dual record since 1996 during the 2021-22 season finishing 10-4 overall which was good for a .714 winning percentage and matching the winning percentage of the 1996 squad that went 15-6. Four Spartans, Rayvon Foley, Cameron Caffey, Chase Saldate and Caleb Fish finished on the podium at the B1G Championships, joining Layne Malczewski as qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. MSU's four B1G dual victories were its most since the 2004-05 season. The Spartans recorded a trio of ranked dual victories during the season taking down No. 12-ranked Purdue, No. 14-ranked Rutgers and No. 21-ranked Central Michigan.

During the 2020-21 season Chandler coached eight wrestlers to NCAA tournament appearances after seven Spartans earned automatic berths at the Big Ten Championships. It was the most MSU wrestlers at NCAA's since 200 and tied for the second-most in program history. Cameron Caffey was one victory away from a podium finish. Michigan State's 73.5 team points and its eighth-place finish were both the most points and the highest finish under Chandler. Eighth place was MSU's highest finish since 2010 when the Spartans finished seventh. The 73.5 team points were the most since 2003 when MSU finished with 92.5.

Chandler achieved many milestones during the 2019-20 season. Under his guidance, Chandler guided redshirt sophomore Cameron Caffey to new heights over the course of the season. Caffey was not only named a NWCA All-American and NWCA Scholar All-American, he was a Big Ten finalist at the Big Ten Championships. Caffey finished the season ranked No. 7 by FloWrestling and a 27-7 record. The Spartans recorded one of the biggest upsets in recent history under Chandler, defeating No. 4 Wisconsin, 19-17, on Feb. 9 in Madison. The win was the Spartans' first over the Badgers since 2009, and the highest ranked win since MSU knocked off No. 2 Iowa on Feb. 7, 2003. Additionally, Chandler led the Spartans to a 10th place finish at the Big Ten Championships and guided six Spartan wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, the most of any team since 2012. Under Chandler, 15 wrestlers were named Winter Academic All-Big Ten selections.

In 2018-19, Chandler led the Spartans to a 10-8 record and a 33^rd place finish at the 2019 NCAA Team Championships, marking the best finish since 2002-03 for head coach Roger Chandler in his third season at the helm. Chandler guided sophomore Rayvon Foley to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Foley earned All-America honors for the Spartans, the first to do so since 2014. Along with Foley, redshirt sophomore Drew Hughes and redshirt freshman Cameron Caffey were national qualifiers for the Spartans under Chandler's guidance. The Hoosier alum directed Michigan State's first winning season in 14 years during the 2018-19 campaign, going 10-8 overall.

Chandler has helped produce 11 different All-Americans and six Big Ten Champions for a total of 22 All-America selections and nine Big Ten individual titles during his time at Michigan State. He also coached three-time All-American Franklin Gomez, who won a national title in 2009 at 133 pounds. Chandler, who began his coaching career as an assistant at MSU in 1997, was promoted to associate head coach in 2011.

Outside of his work at Michigan State, Chandler also has been instrumental in establishing and growing youth folkstyle wrestling in the state of Michigan and throughout the entire United States. Chandler serves as the president of the Michigan Youth Wrestling Association (MYWAY) and also the associate executive director of the National United Wrestling Association for Youth (NUWAY). Started in 1998 with 750 members, MYWAY now has more than 9,000 members, while NUWAY -- modeling the MYWAY system -- has expanded with organizations in 15 states.

Chandler also has international coaching experience, as he coached former Spartan assistant Alex Dolly, who represented Ireland, at the 2011 Freestyle World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

A three-time All-American at Indiana, Chandler was inducted into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. The IU Male Athlete of the Year in 1996-97, Chandler finished eighth at the NCAA Championships in 1995, third in 1996 and second in 1997. His only loss at the 1997 NCAA Championships came against Cary Kolat of Lock Haven, a two-time NCAA Champion and 1997 World Championship runner-up. The Big Ten Champion at 142 pounds in 1997, Chandler finished his Indiana career with a 134-25 record. He graduated from Indiana in 1997 with a degree in sport management.

While he was at St. Edward High School in Cleveland, Chandler was the 1992 Ohio state champion, wrestling on a team that produced 12 state champions and eight national champions. He ended his prep career with a 112-12 mark.

Chandler, whose first season at Michigan State was in 1997-98, also served as head coach of the Ohio Junior National Freestyle team in 1998 and 1999.

Chandler is a native of Sheffield Lake, Ohio. His wife, Mandy, is the Director of Academic Services/Head Football Academic Coordinator at Michigan State. The couple has two daughters, Kira and Kylee.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT Roger Chandler:

Michigan State head coach Tom Minkel:
“Roger Chandler has been on my staff for 18 years; we have certainly worked closely together for a long, long time. His career goal is to be a head coach, and I feel very comfortable that he’s totally ready to take over the position here. The next year will really be dedicated to making a smooth transition to Coach Chandler.

“Roger has certainly grown in the coaching profession after coming to Michigan State right after college. He has the essential qualities that you need as a head coach. He has a strong work ethic and possesses the fortitude and ability to stay motivated and focused. Secondly, he’s an outstanding wrestler himself. I don’t think at the collegiate level you can be an effective coach without being a great wrestler yourself, and he still has great technical skills in the wrestling room. Thirdly, you have to be able to teach and communicate with kids who are 18 to 23 years old. Roger is outstanding at that as well. There are also the administrative duties that come along with being a head coach, which he will no doubt handle effectively because he’s organized and very detailed. He clearly has the skill set to be a successful head coach.”

Former Spartan All-American and current Michigan State assistant coach Chris Williams:
“I’m really happy for Roger and his family. He’s been extremely loyal to Michigan State and I’m happy he’s going to get the opportunity to be the next Spartan head coach.

“Roger does a lot of things that people outside the program are not aware of. He’s extremely organized, coordinates a lot of events, and helps give the student-athletes a great experience while they are at Michigan State.

“Roger was a phenomenal wrestler - he was a Big Ten Champion and three-time All-American - so he definitely has the knowledge and technical skills to help the athletes develop. He’s also very intense and very honest with the student-athletes. He’s definitely going to show you how to do something right.

“Having an opportunity to work with both Roger and Tom (Minkel) as an assistant coach (at MSU), I just really appreciated when I came in - they were both my coaches in college - they treated me as an equal right away. They didn’t seclude me from anything that was going on, they involved me right away. I never felt like I worked underneath either one of them, I felt like I worked alongside them and they valued my opinion. It was great to have that kind of support.”

Former Spartan wrestler and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans:
“I’m real excited for Roger. He was always one of those coaches who found a way to communicate and you could relate to. When I first came to Michigan State, Roger was one of the main guys who worked with me and made sure I was wrestling really well. He was my training partner too. He was more than a coach; he really took the time to get to know me.

“(Roger is) very detailed and he’s very competitive too. Don’t think that because you’re his underling, he’s going to take it easy on you. He goes hard and makes sure you do all of the techniques right. He’ll keep going over and over it with you until you get the technique, but at the same time, he’ll help you out.

“I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for my career at Michigan State. Those guys laid a really good foundation for me and helped me to achieve at another level. Just the mindset and the work ethic; Roger, Coach Minkel and (former assistant) Dave Dean, those guys didn’t let up for a second. That year where we almost won the Big Ten Championship (2003, finished third), that was a big year for us, and a lot of that was spearheaded a few years prior. It was just the work ethic that they made us do. They would have us come in and run and do work outs early, six in the morning, before we did anything else, then we went to class, and afterwards we would do the training. Everything was just regimented and the work level was expected.”

Former Spartan All-American and UFC fighter Gray Maynard:
“I’m definitely excited about the future of the Spartan wrestling team. Roger was one of the big reasons I chose Michigan State when looking at schools. His dedication and persistence is second to none. That attitude is what championships are made of.”

Former Spartan wrestler and Brighton High School head coach Tony Greathouse:
“Roger was the coach that I worked with most during my career at MSU. The thing that I liked the most was that he was a hands-on coach; I learned more in my five years from him than I learned in my whole life, and I’d been wrestling since I was 6 years old. A lot of the stuff that I do now from a coaching standpoint, and not just technique, but how I interact with my student-athletes and the way that I treat people, stems from my experiences with Roger.

“I’ve kept a close relationship with him and a lot of alumni have since they’ve graduated. It’s not just in wrestling; he’s a family person, he’s been successful with his business ventures, and he’s been successful as a leader in general. He’s also a really organized person and has tremendous leadership ability. That’s the biggest thing with being a head coach, really at any level, is being able to get the right people around the program, and being able to lead people in the right direction.

“The fact that Roger is going to be the next head coach is going to be phenomenal for the alumni, the community, and state of Michigan in general. He’s someone who is involved with wrestling at all levels, from the ground floor all the way up. Everyone across the state knows who he is and he has a great reputation.”