Bob Cassleman (2017) - Hall of Fame - Michigan State University Athletics

Bob Cassleman

Induction:
2017
Class:
1974

Bob Cassleman
Track & Field (1971-74)
Grand Rapids, Michigan
MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2017

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Five-time All-American
• Posted eight Top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships
• Won 13 total Big Ten titles, including eight individual titles in eight individual races and five relays, featuring two that set collegiate-record times
• Set collegiate record in 600-yard run and owns school records in 400m hurdles and 600-yard run

HALL OF FAME FEATURE: CLASS OF 2017

Bob Cassleman's name is on many records, titles and awards. His name is scattered throughout the Michigan State track & field record and history book and will most likely be there forever. There is now one more spot for Cassleman's name to be etched for eternity, the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame.

"Initially, it was like Christmas as a child. I knew I had been nominated and I hoped it would happen, but when it did happen I felt an incredible thrill," Cassleman said about his feeling when getting the phone call from MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis. "I'm just incredibly grateful to be named to the 2017 Class. When you consider all the men and women that have worn the Green & White over the many, many years, you can't but be a bit humbled."

Cassleman is a Green & White great, as he currently possesses two MSU records, the outdoor 400-meter hurdles record of 49.64 set in 1972 and the indoor 600-yard run, a record that will live on perhaps forever as it is no longer a contested event in college track. He is not only the MSU record holder in the 600-yard run, but he holds the collegiate record, running a 1:08.15 on his home track.

"The high mark in my career as a Spartan was setting the collegiate record at 600 yards indoors. I actually eclipsed the school record held by MSU alum Bill Wehrwein. It was on a February evening in 1973 at the Spartan Relays on MSU's indoor track. I really wanted the record, and I went after it as soon as the gun went off. That was very satisfying," Cassleman said.

He was a five-time All-American and finished in the top 10 of the NCAA Championships a total of eight times. He won a total of eight individual Big Ten titles as well as five more conference crowns in relays, including two that set collegiate-record times, combining for a remarkable total of 13 Big Ten titles.

The MSU Athletics Hall of Fame honor sparks a great sense of pride for Cassleman.

"I'm also very proud to be associated with such a fine University, one that is considered to be among the top public universities in the country. I've worked in higher education during my entire adult working career, so I've been able to view Michigan State from an educated perspective, perhaps," Cassleman said.

This Hall of Fame accolade also stirs up some great memories for him during his time as a Spartan student-athlete, and the people that helped him along his path.

"You're also able to recollect about the times you were competing, for me that was in the early 1970s, and the most visible recollections are about people, teammates and coaches, competitors and things like that. I've always remembered the people that formed this family of support around us as athletes," Cassleman said. "I vividly remember the athletic director at the time, Burt Smith, and I think a lot of us knew him on a first name basis and were tight with him. I also remember Clarence Underwood, who is a fellow member of the 2017 class, was the assistant athletic director at the time. I also remember all the support staff, like the equipment managers, the athletic trainers, the ticket office mangers and business office managers, and everyone like that. All those people come back into fond recollection when you have a moment like this induction. It's all just kind of 'holy smokes!'"

"Holy smokes!" might be what a lot of Cassleman's opponents and fans thought when watching him run. His numerous highlights as a Spartan include an undefeated streak in the 400m hurdles and 600-yards in Big Ten Championship competition. Cassleman won three Big Ten crowns in the hurdles and five in the 600-yards during his time as a Spartan. Eight Big Ten Championship races as an individual, eight Big Ten titles.

"From an individual standpoint, I also remember my senior season and my Big Ten title in the 400 meter hurdles, which was my ace event, I was undefeated from my freshman to my senior year in Big Ten title events, so I was really hoping to keep that streak going as a senior," Cassleman said.

How fast did Cassleman run? His school record time of 49.64 would have won the 2017 Big Ten title. Not by a few hundredths of a second or a few tenths of a second, not even by a split second, but smashing it by over a full second, as this year's conference title time was 50.88. Cassleman not only earned All-America honors in the 1970s, but his 49.64 time would have earned him All-America accolades in 2017 as it would have placed him sixth at the NCAA Championships this year.

While Cassleman has many individual accomplishments to be proud of, he is also proud of his team accolades.

"One of my biggest athletic memories is the 1972 season, when we won the Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor titles, and also won the cross country title, so we won the Big Ten triple crown, as we termed it. We then came within one point of winning the 1972 Indoor NCAA title at Nationals, so that was a very special season," Cassleman said.

Cassleman's competitions expanded to the international level, competing on United States National Teams in 1973 and 1975 and in three Olympic trials in 1972, 1076 and 1980. He also was a National Sports Festival participant in 1979.

All of those races pitted Cassleman against competitors from all around the world, and he enjoyed the experiences of meeting different people.

"I met people from different backgrounds. We all put our socks on one at a time," Cassleman said.

Throughout his time as an athlete, Cassleman was given many tips and advice from coaches, and many of them stuck with him throughout his career and stick with him today.

"One of the lasting sayings is by my individual coach, Jim Gibbard, and he would always say 'you've got to want it.' That was something that really stuck with me, you really have to desire the outcome that you want, whether you get there or not, whether it's to make the Olympic teams or whatever your dream, you've got to want it," Cassleman said.

After his running time was done, Cassleman wasn't done with track & field, as he became a coach, starting off at Central Michigan, with stops at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Illinois and Washington State. Cassleman retired from coaching in 1995 after 13 years at Washington State. He continued to work at Washington State in the Office of International Programs.

During his time at Illinois, he met his wife of 35 years, Jessica, who shared his love of track & field and his love for coaching, and they coached together at Illinois, leading the Illini cross country and track & field programs before moving to both coach track & field at Washington State. While Bob retired in May of 2015, Jessica is the Assistant Dean for International Programs in the Carson College of Business at Washington State.

"I'm retired, so while my wife serves as the breadwinner, I'm getting lots of practice with my domestic skills. I really enjoy cooking and am pretty handy with tools," Cassleman said.

The Casslemans have four adult children, John (32, married to Shanell), Brendan (30), Nick (26) and Michael (23), and one granddaughter, two-and-a-half year old Aster Brynn. John inherited his father's 400m hurdles skills, as he was an All-American at Washington State in 2006, and has the Cassleman "household" record at 49.53 seconds.

While he may be retired, Cassleman is still active, hiking and enjoying many outdoor activities in the Pacific Northwest, including hiking Mt. Hood. He also has stayed very involved with track & field, volunteering as an official, usually the starter, at track meets in the area, ranging from middle school to college.

Even though he lives in Washington, Cassleman travels a lot, visiting family and friends, including returning to East Lansing on several occasions.

"I've been back a few times over the years to get together with friends and track alums. I was back last September when Ken Popejoy was inducted. I have four brothers in Michigan, so I try to get back there," Cassleman said.

Whether it is on his returns to East Lansing, at home in Washington, or wherever he may be, Cassleman keeps close tabs on the happenings at MSU, particularly with Spartan Athletics.

"I'm a lifetime member of the MSU Alumni Association, so I read as many of their emails and newsletters as I can, to keep track of things going on at Michigan State in general, plus there's always a weekly athletics update that I read," Cassleman said. "I've known MSU head coach Walt Drenth for decades, back to when I was coaching, so I definitely stay up on everything going on. I watched Tim Ehrhardt in the decathlon at the NCAAs on TV and it was lots of fun to watch him. The Spartan women's cross country national championship a couple years ago was very special and was wonderful to see. I was back a few years ago when Michigan State hosted the Big Ten Track & Field Championships and that was fun to watch and relive some memories. We try to get our track alums together and we've had some nice memories, reliving our good times."

With this fall's induction, Cassleman will be able to add MSU Athletics Hall of Fame member to those memories and good times.