Washburn University Athletics

Gene Cassell is in his 27th season as Washburn’s Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications after starting in December 1998. Cassell is a 1997 graduate from Northwest Missouri State University, where he graduated with a BS in journalism with a minor in broadcasting. He also graduated with his master’s degree in communication and leadership from Washburn in December 2020. He is also serves adjunct professor in the mass media department at Washburn.

Besides overseeing the media relations of Washburn’s 17 athletic teams, he is the past Chairman of CoSIDA and Publications and Design Contest Committee and served five years as a D2SIDA Regional Representative. He is the regional coordinator for the D2CCA all-region volleyball team, a former member of the Don Hansen Football Gazette all-region committee and served 18-years on the MIAA Basketball Tournament Committee. Cassell is also the winningest golf coach in Washburn history leading them to a win at the Central Christian Challenge event then promptly retiring from the position with a 1-0 career record.

The WU Athletic Communications office has received 242 citations for excellence for office publications, including 99 best in the nation, 67 second-place finishes and 26 best covers in the nation since Cassell arrived at Washburn and he was recognized at the 2024 College Sports Communicators national convention in Las Vegas for his 25 years in the athletic communications profession and completed the CSC Diversity & Inclusion Fellowship Program in Partnership with the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics .

Cassell and his wife, Regina, live in Topeka with their two sons, Jacob and Jared. The family dog, Zelda, is also an original Ichadog for Washburn Athletics. Regina is the director of student publications and is a senior professor in the Washburn mass media department.