McKendree University Athletics

2nd Year at McKendree in 2026-27
Sports Information Contact For: Football, Men's Golf, M1 Men's Hockey, M3 Men's Hockey, Men's Powerlifting, Men's Tennis, Women's Golf, Women's Powerlifting, Women's Tennis, Women's Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Softball
Alma Maters: Metamora High School ('16), Illinois Central College (A.A., '19), Bradley University (B.S., '22)

Alex Staab was hired on August 7th, 2025 as McKendree University's seventh Director of Sports Information. In his first year, he helped oversee athletic communications during one of the most successful seasons in department history, highlighted by the Bearcat softball program advancing to the NCAA Division II National Championship Series while helping drive more than eight million social media content views across the department's digital platforms. 

Staab directs McKendree's athletic communications operation, overseeing media relations, strategic communications, digital content, branding initiatives, statistical operations, student-athlete award campaigns, personnel, and departmental workflow for the University's 30+ sports.

During the 2025-26 academic year, Staab coordinated media operations for the NCAA Division II Softball Regional hosted at McKendree, working directly with NCAA Championship personnel while overseeing credentialing, live statistics, photography, broadcasting, interviews, and external media relations. He also authored successful student-athlete award nominations that resulted in Academic All-America, Academic All-District, conference and regional player of the year honors, national watchlist selections, and numerous weekly awards. Under his communications leadership, McKendree Athletics recorded more than eight million content views across its digital platforms, including a 107% increase in Facebook watch time and more than 2.2 million Instagram content views during the academic year.

Prior to McKendree, Staab spent four years in athletic communications at Illinois Central College, where he helped launch the department's SIDEARM Sports website while serving as the primary communications contact for Men's Golf, Women's Volleyball, Men's Soccer, Baseball, and Men's Basketball. His responsibilities included media relations, photography, graphic design, social media, statistics, game operations, and broadcasting, while helping promote one of the NJCAA's premier athletic departments. 

Beyond his full-time collegiate athletics responsibilities, Staab has established himself as one of Illinois' most recognizable voices in women's basketball. Since the 2017-18 season, he has served as the radio play-by-play broadcaster and communications contact for Illinois Central College Women's Basketball, calling 238 games while covering six NJCAA National Tournament appearances, two Final Four teams, and four Region 24 Tournament championship teams. He has also served in public address and broadcasting roles for the State Farm Holiday Classic, IHSA State Softball Finals, Ohio Valley Conference Softball Tournament, Bradley Women's Basketball, and numerous high school athletic programs throughout Illinois.

Staab's work has earned statewide recognition, including the Illinois Softball Coaches Association's Sportsperson of the Year Award in 2023 and the Selden Marquart Volunteer of the Year Award from the State Farm Holiday Classic in 2022. He credits longtime broadcasters Brian Barnhart (University of Illinois) and Ed Hammond (Bradley University) with helping shape his philosophy of preparation, professionalism, relationship-building, and storytelling in collegiate athletics. 

A member of College Sports Communicators (CSC) and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Staab remains active in collegiate athletic communications and women's basketball media throughout the Midwest. 

Originally from Vladimir, Russia, Staab was adopted at eight months old and raised in Germantown Hills, Illinois. He currently resides in Mascoutah, Illinois.

Updated July 1st, 2026