Dr. Scott Ritzen
Chadron State College
Head Wrestling Coach

2007 -- Dr. Scott Ritzen is beginning his 21th season as the head wrestling coach at Chadron State College. Last year, when the Eagles finished sixth in the final standings at the NCAA Division II National Tourney, was one of the best he has experienced.
He was a highly successful wrestler himself, and has proven to be an excellent coach, building a solid program made up of quality student-athletes.
And, his steady, upbeat attitude and positive perspective also make him one of the academic leaders at the college. He is chairman of the CSC Health and Physical Education Department.
The high esteem in which he is held by his peers is illustrated by his selection as president of the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association at the 2004 national tourney. He began his two-year term as president during the 2006 national tournament in Findlay, Ohio, and will continue in that position thr ough this spring.
In 1994-95, Ritzen was selected as the coach of the year in both the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the West Region after his team won those tournament championships. While that was probably the best year for the Eagles while he has been their coach, they have constantly been competitive. His 2000-01 team was the RMAC dual champion.
While attending Adams State College at Alamosa, Colo., where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Ritzen compiled a 71-15-1 record and won NAIA national championships as a 126-pounder in 1980 and 1982. He placed sixth in his weight class at the national tourney his junior year in 1981.
Adams State won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title all three years Ritzen wrestled there, and he was on the NAIA national championship team in 1980.
Ritzen received a special honor in March 1989 when he was inducted into the NAIA Wrestling Hall of Fame. In October 2005, he was inducted into the Adams State Athletic Hall of Fame.
After completing his eligibility at Adams State, Ritzen remained there three years as an assistant coach under Rodger Jehlicka, who had been the Chadron State head coach before moving to the Colorado college. Jehlicka was among those who recommended Ritzen for the CSC position when Darold Andrist resigned in 1987.
The two years before he came to Chadron State, Ritzen was the head wrestling coach at Boulder, Colo., High School, where his team had just a 2-11 dual record the first year, but improved to 8-5 the following season.
Ritzen experienced a season similar to his first at Boulder High in 2004-05 at CSC. The Eagles were an extremely young team and lost all 10 of their dual matches. However, the Eagles have continually improved since then, had an 11-8-1 record last year and hope to be at least as competitive this season..
Ritzen’s only visit to Chadron prior to coming for the interview that landed him the job was in 1983 when, as an assistant coach, he accompanied the Adams State team to the Chadron State Open Tournament. He decided to enter the tourney himself, won all of his matches and shared the outstanding wrestler award.
The coach sets lofty goals for the Eagles. His wrestlers set the tone for enthusiasm on campus and many of them maintain high grade point averages. For four consecutive years beginning in 1995, the Eagles were among the top Division II teams in the nation academically, finishing ninth, third, fourth and fourth, respectively. In both 2003-04 and 2004-05, the Eagles ranked second in the academic standings with cumulative GPA’s of 3.39 and 3.34, respectively. They were 10th in 2005-06, but still had a GPA of 3.15, then bounced back to third last year when the GPA was 3.24. All told, CSC has ranked among the top 10 nationally eight of the past 13 years.
In addition, Eagles have earned first- or second-team academic honors conferred by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association 30 times during Ritzen’s tenure as the coach. Sixteen of the honors have been in this decade.
Ritzen’s wrestlers also have earned All-American honors by placing among the top eight at national tournaments 30 times. The coach enters the 2006-07 season with a 100-99-6 record in dual matches.
Ritzen reached a personal milestone in 1996, when he received his doctorate from the University of New Mexico. His research included a survey of more than 700 Chadron State students about their satisfaction with the college’s offerings in athletics, intramurals and recreation. He has continued to conduct those surveys on campus periodically.
The coach is a native of Aurora, Colo., while his wife, Donna, is from Fort Collins, Colo. She was a member of the gymnastics team at Adams State and is a full-time member of the HPER faculty at Chadron State. They are the parents of three outstanding young athletes. John plays football and participates in track and field at CSC after starring in both sports at Chadron High. Nicole is a junior at Chadron High, where she recently earned all-conference in softball, plays basketball and is a leader in track and field. Joe is an energetic 8-year-old who never missed a chance to participate in athletic activities. A few years ago, the Ritzens moved into a new home that they built at a scenic location southwest of Chadron.