Former Lakeland HD Coach Pete Rogers Heads Back to Purdue, Talks to TDR TV

Posted on | September 9, 2010 | No Comments

In a stunning move, Purdue Head Coach Scott Hinkel has re-Hired Pete Rogers as an assistant to the wrestling team effective September 11, 2010. Pete Rogers talks about his history, his 9 years as head coach at Wisconsin’s Lakeland and the return to WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.

Boilermakers Hire Rogers As Asst. Wrestling Coach

Pete Rogers was the Lakeland College head coach for nine years.

Sept. 2, 2010

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue wrestling team added Pete Rogers to its coaching staff on Thursday, naming him an assistant coach with the Boilermaker grapplers. Rogers comes to Purdue from Lakeland College, where he served as the Muskies’ head coach for nine years and vaulted them into the upper echelon of NCAA Division III Wrestling.

“I’m very excited to be a part of the Boilermaker wrestling family,” said Rogers. “I’ve seen great things happening at Purdue and I can’t wait to get in there and work with the guys.”

In his time at Lakeland, located in Sheboygan, Wis., Rogers took the Muskie program from one that could barely field a roster to a pair of NCAA Division III Top-30 finishes in 2009 and 2010. In the 2007-08 season, Rogers led the squad to its first-ever national ranking in addition to a 13-5-1 dual record, a Northern Wrestling Association (NWA) title and mentored just the second NCAA Championship qualifier in school history in Paul Hartt. The Muskies also posted a 5-0 record that season against the rival and talented Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

The following season, Rogers took Lakeland to a 21th-place finish at the NCAA Championships with Hartt and heavyweight standout Adam Sutter, and in 2010 Sutter became just the third All-America honoree in school history with a third-place showing at the national tournament as the Muskies placed 26th as a team.

Rogers is no stranger to the Big Ten Conference, having wrestled collegiately for Ohio State University from 1996-to-2000. A four-time varsity letterwinner, he built an 80-63 career mark for the Buckeyes, including a 20-4 mark in his senior campaign that included a spot as a team captain and a third-place showing at the Big Ten Championships. Rogers also led the team in pins as a junior and was named the Buckeyes’ Most Dedicated Wrestler as a senior.

A native of Oostburg, Wis., Rogers was an elite high school wrestler, posting a remarkable 145-1 prep record and a trio of Wisconsin State High School Championships. Among his collegiate recruiters was current Boilermaker head coach Scott Hinkel, who is excited at his second chance to make Rogers a part of the Purdue Wrestling family.

“We’re very excited about Pete joining the team,” said Hinkel. “He brings a wealth of experience to our program, not only in wrestling, but in coaching and in managing a program. He had the passion and competitiveness to take Lakeland from the bottom to the top, and we think he can bring that to our program and help us as we push to the upper half of the Big Ten and the NCAA.”

Rogers has a master’s degree in education from Lakeland and a bachelor’s degree in sport and leisure studies from Ohio State. He and his wife, Brandi, have two children, Isabella and Gabriel. Rogers will officially join the Boilermakers on Saturday, Sept. 11.