Ozarks Profile: Dan Cashel

What is

your job?

Senior assistant athletic director, Drury University.

Tell us

about your organization.

Founded in 1873, Drury is the oldest and third largest higher learning institution in the area with more than 4,000 students. Drury has 10 varsity athletic programs: men's and women's basketball, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, men's golf and women's volleyball. The soccer program competes at the NCAA Division I level and the women's soccer program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The women's basketball program is beginning its first season this year. The remaining eight sports compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Heartland Conference.

What is your educational background?

Cashel holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., which he received in 1974, and a master's degree in guidance counseling from Southwest Missouri State University, which he received in 1978.

What jobs led you to your current one?

Cashel said after college, he realized he enjoyed the college setting and wanted to work on a campus. Cashel began his affiliation with Drury as an admissions representative in 1974, and he joined the athletics department four years later, when he became the director of sports information for Drury. Since that time, Cashel has handled numerous positions in the athletic department, including directing the intramural sports program and coaching men's tennis. In his current position, Cashel continues to oversee the sports information office, which produces Drury's sports publications, and he also serves as the NCAA compliance coordinator.

What is the best part of your job?

|quot|Working with students and student athletes.|quot|

Give us some personal information.

Cashel, who is 48, was born in St. Louis and moved to Springfield in seventh grade. He is married to Marti, and they have a daughter, Malorie, who is 13. Cashel said he devotes any spare time he has to spending time with his family and supporting Malorie's extracurricular activities.

by Melissa Wilson