Roy Conrad attended Chicago Schurz High School where he was a member of the wrestling team.

In 1951, Conrad qualified for the 14th Annual Illinois High School Association State Championships, held that year in Huff Gym on the campus of the University of Illinois. Wrestling at 165 pounds, Roy placed second, losing a hard-fought match to New Trier's Peter Van Schaack, 8-4.

Following a stint in the United States Armed Forces, joining the military immediately after graduation from high school, Conrad enrolled at Northern Illinois University as a 28-year-old freshman. It was 1958, which was the inaugural year for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Wrestling Championships.

Conrad entered and reached the finals at 177 pounds in the first NAIA tournament. He returned in 1959 and again reached the finals. Conrad was unable to compete in the 1960 NAIA tournament due to injury, but he did enter the 1960 NCAA Division I Championships at the University of Maryland. Conrad won five consecutive matches, including a 14-13 barn-burner over Oklahoma's Dave Campbell in the finals to win the 177-pound championship. In his final college year in 1961, Conrad won the NAIA national title at the Colorado School of the Mines. He was also a four-time Interstate Intercollegiate Conference champion.

In 1963, Conrad learned of a new tournament being organized by a group, including Northwestern University's Ken Kraft. Conrad entered the first tournament of what went on to become the Midlands Championships, and, to no one's surprise, he won.

Although Conrad's accomplishments on the mat have been many, his legacy involves much more. It is obvious, even to the most casual of observers, that he has realized the immense benefits the sport of wrestling offers.

Consequently, Conrad has spent a great deal of his post-competitive years tirelessly passing on those benefits to others who have followed in his footsteps. Whether helping aspiring grapplers while working out at the Irving Park YMCA or instructing youngsters through the Franklin Park Raiders wrestling club, Conrad sought unselfishly to pass on the lessons he learned.

For his efforts in helping youth wrestling throughout his life, Conrad was selected as a Grand Marshall at the 1984 Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation State Championships.

For his lifelong accomplishments in and contributions to the sport of wrestling, Conrad was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Hall of Fame in 1975. The IWCOA honored him again in 1987 when it selected him as a Grand Marshall for the IHSA State Finals.