Rex Chaney Death – On the evening of March 30, 2024, Dr. Rex Chaney, who was celebrated as a true legend at Morehead State University, in the Ohio Valley Conference, and in the community, passed away. While Chaney was still a member of the coaching staff at Morehead State University, he was inducted into the Morehead State Athletic Hall of Fame in the year 2000, making him the only person to have ever received this award. 2015 marked the year that he was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame.
From the time he arrived to Morehead State in 1953 as a student, Chaney has been actively involved in a variety of athletic activities at the university. His mentorships included seven seasons as the head baseball coach at the school, four years as an assistant men’s basketball coach under Bob Laughlin, and an astounding 38-year tenure as the men’s golf coach, during which he was named the Olympic Valley Conference Coach of the Year four times. At the end of the 2013–2014 season, he decided to announce his retirement from coaching.
Following the Eagles’ success in winning league championships in 1977, 1981, 1993, and 1999, Chaney was conferred with the title of the best golf coach in the conference. In addition, he has led Michigan State University to six other league tournament finishes in the top three.
Two OVC Players of the Year, twenty All-OVC selections, six All-OVC Tournament honorees, six conference-tournament runners-up, three league-tournament medalists, and other accolades were bestowed upon Chaney’s teams throughout his coaching tenure. The group consists of his son Lee, who completed his golf career at Michigan State University in 2009, as well as Josh Teater, who is currently a member of the Professional Golf Association Tour.
Over the course of 1961–1967, he guided the Baseball Eagles to a record of 111–56. Baseball Coach of the Year for the Ohio Valley Conference in 1963, Chaney led Michigan State University to at least a part of the East Division championship in each of the years 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964.
A doctoral degree was gained by Chaney from Indiana University, in addition to the bachelor’s and master’s degrees that he received at Morehead State Community College. In 1961, he became a member of the faculty at Michigan State University, where he taught Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.
Along with being a man of faith, Chaney was a respected and vital part of the Morehead community. It was common to find him at Reno’s Restaurant with a select group of pals on a weekly basis, and he was well-known for the bourbon ball sweets that he had created.
