One of Patrick Chapman's first calls after getting hired as Central Catholic's athletic director last month was to his parents' house, where a box of Rams gear from his high school days was tucked away in the garage.
“I said, 'All right, where's the box? I need it,'” said Chapman, a 2009 Central Catholic graduate who was athletic director at Valley Catholic the last two years. “I've worn a couple of the shirts already. They're are a little bit more snug than I'd like them to be.”
In his homecoming, Chapman takes over one of the state's premier athletic programs. In 2023-24, Central Catholic became the first school to win football and boys basketball big-school state titles in the same school year since Corvallis in 1983-84.
Chapman replaces Laura Jaeger, the school's athletic director for the past 11 years. Jaeger, who oversaw 19 state champion teams (15 OSAA titles) during her tenure, now is the school's student success coordinator.
Chapman said he will use Jaeger as a resource, along with associate athletic director Shawn Malloy and dean of athletics Will Shelby, who remain in their positions.
“It's big shoes to fill,” Chapman said of Jaeger, who was the dean of students when Chapman attended Central Catholic. “You don't have the success that the program has had without Laura in it.”
Chapman spent the last eight years at 3A Valley Catholic. He was a history teacher for five years before working his way into administration, serving one year as assistant athletic director and the last two years as athletic director. He was a boys basketball assistant coach for four seasons and interim head coach for one season (2019-20).
Chapman said he believes the wide-ranging success of the programs at Valley Catholic – where the Valiants won the OSAA Cup – will carry over to his new position, but admitted that vaulting up to 6A presents a challenge for him.
“We had 26 football players total at Valley Catholic, so I don't know what this JV, JV2 football scheduling is,” Chapman said. “The biggest difference for me is going to be the club sports and activities, and the number of athletes in each program.
“Central Catholic is a place of high achievement, so I'm excited to support coaches and work with a great group in the athletic office to keep that rolling, see what we can accomplish.”
Chapman did not play sports at Central Catholic, but served as a student manager for the basketball team under then-coach Mike Petrino. He also was closely connected to the cross country program considering his brother, Ricky, was a member of the 2003 state title team that featured Olympian Galen Rupp.
“I never actually wore a jersey, but I was certainly around the athletic programs quite a bit,” Chapman said. “I was breaking down film for Mike. I got to see a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff of how a program was run.”
Much has changed at Central Catholic since Chapman graduated. Girls basketball coach Sandy Dickerson, his kindergarten and first-grade PE teacher, is the only remaining varsity head coach.
But Chapman said he was flooded with memories when he returned to the campus.
“Walking in the gym door, it was that 'We're back' type of feeling,” he said.
Chapman began his career in education with three years (2013-16) at Monroe Catholic in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was an assistant boys basketball coach for three seasons, including a state title in 2014, and was assistant athletic director in 2015-16.
Ehrhardt on the move
Dave Ehrhardt, who helped Phoenix athletics rebound after a devastating wildfire, is resigning as the school's athletic director to take the same position at Eagle Point.
Ehrhardt spent seven years as the athletic director at Phoenix, a period that included a Sept. 2020 wildfire that scorched much of the towns of Phoenix and Talent.
“I leave behind people that will be my friends for life,” Ehrhardt said. “It was really tough to decide to make this move, but I just thought it was best for me and my family.”
Ehrhardt said he was attracted by Eagle Point's commitment to enhancing its athletic programs. At Eagle Point, Ehrhardt will replace Kacey McNulty, who left for the same job at Redmond.
“I wasn't really expecting the opportunity, but Eagle Point called and had an opening,” Ehrhardt said. “It's a good chance to see what else is out there. It's just a neat opportunity to kind of reset and recalibrate. I just turned 59, so I've got a few years left of doing this.”
It will be the third athletic director job for Ehrhardt, who held the position at South Umpqua for three years before going to Phoenix. He said he plans on moving to Eagle Point.
“We've lived in Rogue River this whole time, so I had to drive one hour to South Umpqua and 30 minutes to Phoenix,” he said. “We're moving to Eagle Point and we're going to be a part of that community.”
Phoenix filled the vacancy by hiring James Joy, who was the athletic director at South Medford.
O'Brien to Mazama
Mazama has hired Ian O'Brien to fill the athletic director vacancy created by the resignation of Vic Lease.
O'Brien spent the last seven years as athletic director at Warrenton, where he had two stints as the head football coach (2012-14, 2017-22). He also was athletic director at Lakeridge for two years (2015-17).
“Just looking for a change,” O'Brien said. “Mazama is a good school. They've had some good programs, and also there are some programs that need some TLC.”
O'Brien stepped down as Warrenton's football coach last year and coached the youth football team of his son, Madden, who is entering the fourth grade. O'Brien said he plans to coach in the youth program at Mazama.
“I've kind of changed perspective,” he said. “Kind of trying to pour some time into my own kids, from a coaching standpoint.”
Will he coach high school football again?
“I don't know,” said O'Brien, who went 46-35 in nine seasons at Warrenton. “I'm enjoying what I'm doing right now. I get to stay plugged into the high school stuff with just being the AD. Right now I'm pretty happy with just getting to enjoy watching my kid play. I just love coaching. It doesn't matter what age it is.”
O'Brien and his wife, Dani, also have two daughters: London, an incoming senior and three-sport athlete; and Briar, who is entering the third grade.
New hires
A look at some of the other athletic director positions recently filled in the state:
Alsea – Joe Harris
Banks – Cole Linehan
Bend – Ricky Rodriguez
Burns – Joe Wagner
Central Linn – Wendi Farris
Dayton – Frank Baumholz
East Linn Christian – Robby Gilliam
Faith Bible – Chris McPeak
Glencoe – Andy Ackerman
Heppner – Jeremy Rosenbalm
Hidden Valley – Sam Osofsky
Irrigon – Jason Dunten
Junction City – Bart Rothenberger
Lakeridge – John Parke
Marshfield – Casey McCord
Molalla – Mike Lord
Putnam – Tricia Halonen
Riddle – Jason Luft
Santiam Christian – Steve Reed
Seaside – Chad Clouse
Southwest Christian – Marilee Shefer
Tillamook – Kye Johnson
Valley Catholic – KT Emerson
Wallowa – Annette Moeller
Warrenton – Ryker Thornton
jerryu@osaa.org
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