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Minnesota announces former DB Charles Rogers died while running Brooklyn Marathon

On3 imageby: Sam Gillenwater05/19/25samdg_33
Minnesota Helmet
Jeff Hanisch | Imagn Images

Charles Rogers, the former college defensive back for Minnesota and Iowa State, died over the weekend, the Gophers announced on Monday. His death occurred during his running of the Brooklyn Marathon

Reporting by the New York Post from the race over the weekend was that a runner went into cardiac arrest eight miles into the run, received medical attention, and later died at Maimonides Medical Center. That was Rogers, with Minnesota having since further confirmed that with a post on social media in his memory this evening.

“Our hearts are broken as former Gopher Charles Rogers tragically passed over the weekend while running the Brooklyn Marathon,” the Golden Gophers posted. “Our thoughts are with the Rogers family and all of his loved ones.”

“Charles put everything he had into everything he did,” Sydney Rogers, his wife, told to The New York Post. “While he leaves behind a wife and family that already miss him terribly, he loved being competitive and left us being 100% himself.”

Charles ‘Ace’ Rogers played two seasons apiece for the Cyclones and Golden Gophers, as well as one apiece amongst those stops at Iowa Western Community College and Lindenwood, in the 2010s. He played 15 games in total in Division I, with a dozen in Ames in 2013 and three in Minneapolis in 2015. He missed most of his career with Minnesota with injuries but in his three appearances, he recorded 11 tackles, one for loss, and a deflection in their secondary.

Since his playing career, Rogers had stayed in fitness based on his posts on social media, including participating in the 5 Boro Bike Tour almost a year ago to the day. He was running this race in the Brooklyn Half Marathon for a cause, too, according to his Facebook page, for Team for Kids, “a team of adult runners dedicated to raising funds for New York Road Runners youth and community programs.” That makes his passing all the more tragic, considering the cause of it, even if it was what he loved to do most.

Rogers was 31 years old. He leaves behind his wife and family following the terrible news from Saturday.