Chas L. Gessner (2024) - Hall of Fame - Brown University Athletics

Chas L. Gessner

Induction:
2024
Class:
2003

Two-sport All-Americans in NCAA Division I are rare in college sports. Maryland native Chas Gessner was a three-sport star in football, basketball, and lacrosse in high school and was determined to play two of those sports – football and lacrosse on College Hill. He was a dominating player in both sports.

Chas was vital to the Bears’ 1999 Ivy League Championship team as a freshman wide receiver with eight touchdown receptions. Brown went 9-1 overall, and Chas’ quarterback was none other than current head coach and Brown Athletic Hall of Famer James Perry ’00.

A two-time first team All-Ivy, first team All-New England, and Walter Payton Award Finalist (given to the nation’s most outstanding FCS player), Chas tied Jerry Rice’s NCAA single-game record with 24 receptions against Rhode Island in his senior season – his second straight season of 1,000 receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns.

Nationally, Gessner ranks third in receptions per game, fourth in career catches, tenth in touchdown receptions, and 18th in receiving yards in FCS football history. In 39 career games, Gessner had 292 receptions for 3,408 yards and 36 touchdowns.

After graduating, Gessner signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2003, winning a Super Bowl ring as a rookie. Throughout an eight-year professional football career, Gessner was a member of the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and won a World Bowl championship with the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe. Gessner also competed for the Orlando Predators of the Arena League and the Florida Tuskers of the UFL.

Chas was also drafted second overall by the Baltimore Bayhawks in the 2008 Major League Lacrosse draft but deferred to continue his professional football career. As a sophomore (2001), Chas was an NCAA All-American in lacrosse, leading Brown in goals and total points.

Gessner is the founder and CEO of Vitality Rx, a men’s health and wellness company.