'Wright State is well positioned' — Chandler introduced as next WSU athletic director
Jun. 26—College athletics have evolved more in the past few months than any before it in the eyes of Brad Chandler.
To accept a new role during this time period meant he needed to know he was walking into a situation which he believed was well suited for the new era. He believes he found that at Wright State.
Chandler was introduced to the public Friday, June 26 as WSU’s new Director of Athletics. He is the school’s fifth ever AD and third in just over two years.
“I am humbled by this opportunity and excited for this journey ahead,” Chandler said. “This was one that has such a strong commitment to its students, its community and its future.”
Chandler, 39, steps in for interim AD Robert Ray, who filled the role after former AD Joylynn Brown left in April.
A committee of eight which included men’s basketball head coach Clint Sargent and Board of Trustees member Andy Piatt led the search for the new AD. Piatt said the committee wanted to find more than the right candidate — a leader who will take the reigns to push WSU ahead into the current landscape of collegiate athletics.
“Throughout the process we looked for someone with vision, integrity, energy and a genuine commitment to student-athlete success,” he said.
Chandler emphasized finding ways to overcome challenges presented by name, image and likeness and other revenue needs several times during his introductory session.
He said during his three-plus years as the deputy athletics director at Bradley he experienced their success finding resources available for a Missouri Valley Conference school. He believes Wright State being a “top-tier” Horizon League program can help it in its search to find new avenues to earn similar success.
It’s a difficulty the school has faced for nearly a decade. Wright State moved up to Division I in 1987 after 20 years as a D-II school. It commissioned a report in 2021 looking into the potential financial ramifications if it were to move back down to D-II, ultimately determining remaining in D-I was the best course of action from a cost savings standpoint.
Part of the findings of that report stated the amount of significant opportunities which existed to find external revenue were available if a plan were set.
“I can’t speak to the past and conversations that happened in the past, but as it relates to needing to raise revenue, not everybody loves the concept of NIL and revenue sharing, but to compete at the level we want and to make March Madness, we need resources and we need revenue sharing,” Chandler said. “It’s just the name of the game and we’re going to figure out ways to do it.”
He’ll have the backing of WSU president Dr. Sue Edwards. The passion Chandler presented to her stood out in the school’s search for its next AD, she said.
“What really did strike me was his dedication to relationships and really treating everybody as a human being, first and foremost,” Edwards said. “My takeaway from getting to know Brad is that he has a genuine passion for this work and a clear appreciation for what Wright State means to this region.”
Chandler feels working at Ohio State under former AD Gene Smith allowed him to model his approach to the job. He was asked what the department can immediately implement from that stop and others on his journey to Wright State.
The short answer was potentially not much from the difficulty of speculating which direction college athletics will head next. Between evolving NIL measures, the newest five-year eligibility calendar and more, he said needing to expect the next curveballs thrown mean the luxury of long-term planning isn’t always applicable.
He wants to be able to be adaptive in the plans that are created so success at the school doesn’t fall off.
“I can’t speak to anything specific, but I just want to build on the momentum. We have obviously had a fantastic year last year, so I just to get here and just the trajectory, keep the momentum going, keep the ball rolling, not slow down, keep people excited, keep people excited about coming to games, buying season tickets and so forth,” he said.
“That’s going to be job number one is just keeping that excitement because last year was pretty special.”
