A native of High Point, North Carolina, Rogers got his start in wrestling at Ragsdale High School under Coach Mike Raybon. After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill in 1971, Rogers became the wrestling coach at Githens Middle School in Durham, North Carolina. In 1976, he took over as the head coach at Charles E. Jordan High in Durham.  Eager to get the program its own wrestling room, Rogers himself began digging a space out of the school’s basement before the school system stepped in to complete the project. Rogers’ tenure at Jordan lasted from 1976 until 1991, with a career record of 197-20-1. His teams captured 12 conference championships, included seven in a row from 1980 to 1986.  Rogers also coached over100 state qualifiers and five individual state champions in his career. His 1991 team won the state tournament championship, earing him the North Carolina Mat News Coach-of-the-Year.  Rogers stepped away from coaching at the end of the 1991 season but continued to serve as Jordan’s Athletic Director until his retirement in 1999. From 1973 to 1999, Rogers directed one of North Carolina’s premier high school tournaments, The Bull Durham Holiday Classic.