{"id":166544,"date":"2026-06-25T12:21:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=166544"},"modified":"2026-06-25T12:21:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:21:40","slug":"wright-state-names-rising-star-division-i-leader-brad-chandler-as-director-of-athletics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/06\/25\/wright-state-names-rising-star-division-i-leader-brad-chandler-as-director-of-athletics\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State names rising star Division I leader Brad Chandler as director of athletics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_166580\" style=\"width: 261px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?attachment_id=166580\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-166573\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-166580\" class=\"wp-image-166580\" src=\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2026\/06\/Brad-Chandler-Headshot-2-508x486.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"251\" height=\"240\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-166580\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brad Chandler, the deputy athletics director at Bradley University, was named Wright State&#8217;s new director of athletics.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Wright State University announced today that Brad Chandler, J.D., has been named its next director of athletics. The appointment follows the university\u2019s first-ever national search for a Division I athletics director.<\/p>\n<p>With more than 17 years of NCAA Division I athletics experience, Chandler has built a strong record of program development and student-athlete success.<\/p>\n<p>Chandler joins Wright State from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he served as deputy athletics director since 2023. At Bradley, he served as the department\u2019s chief revenue, financial and compliance officer and its lead fundraiser.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to Bradley, he has held leadership roles at Arizona State, Ohio State and Rutgers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are extremely proud to welcome Brad, his wife, Kara, and their daughter, Waverly, to the Raider family,\u201d said Wright State University President Sue Edwards. \u201cThis search was about finding someone who can take our athletics program to the next level \u2014 someone who prioritizes student-athlete success, academic achievement and building a program that represents the pride of our university and community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrad brings that and more. He has the experience and vision needed to elevate our athletics program, create opportunities for our student-athletes, coaches and teams, and continue the momentum already in place. We are confident that Brad is exactly the right person to lead Wright State Athletics as we enter this important next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Throughout his career, Chandler has demonstrated the ability to develop successful programs, support coaches and student-athletes, and create a culture centered on excellence and integrity.<\/p>\n<p>Among Chandler\u2019s notable accomplishments at Bradley University:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increased total athletics revenue by 51% since FY24<\/li>\n<li>Grew athletics fundraising by 14% and 21% in FY25 and FY26<\/li>\n<li>Negotiated revenue-sharing agreements with student-athletes and assisted with the creation of Bradley\u2019s NIL program<\/li>\n<li>Led the relaunch of the Bradley Script brand, producing record merchandise growth and fan engagement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Chandler earned a law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law and a bachelor\u2019s degree in finance from Michigan State University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to be here at Wright State,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cMy family and I are so excited about being a part of the Dayton community and will be proud to serve the Wright State family. To lead a program that means so much to this region is something I do not take lightly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am committed to working alongside our coaches, student-athletes, alumni and supporters to build on the strong foundation already in place and continue strengthening a culture that helps our student-athletes succeed in competition, in the classroom and beyond. I look forward to what we can accomplish together in this next chapter. Go Raiders!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chandler\u2019s appointment follows a comprehensive national search led by a dedicated search committee representing university leaders, board members, faculty, coaches, alumni and student-athletes.<\/p>\n<p>As director of athletics, Chandler will oversee <a href=\"https:\/\/wsuraiders.com\/\">Wright State\u2019s NCAA Division I athletics program<\/a> to enhance the student-athlete experience and elevate the program\u2019s visibility and impact across the region and nationally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe student-athlete perspective was an important part of this search, and we were looking for someone who values our experiences, listens to our voices and is committed to helping us succeed,\u201d said Jahi McDonald, student-athlete representative on the Athletics Director Search Committee. \u201cChandler demonstrated a genuine understanding of what our student-athletes need to succeed, and we are excited about the future of Wright State Athletics under his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, Wright State Athletics has achieved significant milestones. The men\u2019s basketball team earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament this spring after capturing both the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles; the women\u2019s bowling team finished the 2026 season ranked No. 11 nationally; the volleyball team made its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the past seven years last fall; and the baseball program won its 11th Horizon League championship and earned a win against No. 1 seed Vanderbilt in the 2025 NCAA Regional.<\/p>\n<p>The department\u2019s commitment to student-athlete success extends beyond competition, with student-athletes achieving a 3.45 average departmental GPA in fall 2025 and 133 earning Horizon League Academic Honor Roll recognition.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Meet the new director of athletics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Brad Chandler and his family will be welcomed on Friday, June 26, at approximately 1 p.m. at the new Admissions Visit Center in the Student Union.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With more than 17 years of NCAA Division I athletics experience, Brad Chandler has built a strong record of program development and student-athlete success. <a href=\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/06\/25\/wright-state-names-rising-star-division-i-leader-brad-chandler-as-director-of-athletics\/\" class=\"morelink\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":166586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2798,711,725,715,2024],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-faculty-staff","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-staff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166544"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166609,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166544\/revisions\/166609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}