John Jacob Crouthamel (June 27, 1938 November 6, 2022) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player, coach, and college

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

Early life and education

Crouthamel was born in eastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

to Kathryn Apple and Russell Crouthamel, who ran the family business making men's trousers during the war. He attended Pennridge High School, where he played on a team that won 26 of 27 games in three years. He was an All-League athlete in football, track, and basketball, and was named the school's top athlete. He graduated with a B.A. in History from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1960.

Playing career

Crouthamel played as a two-way halfback position for the

Dartmouth Big Green football The Dartmouth Big Green football team represents Dartmouth College in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. The team possesses a storied tradition that includes a natio ...

team. He was an exceptional football player at Dartmouth, leading in rushing for three seasons, and was on a team that compiled a 19–6–2 record from 1957 to 1959, including Dartmouth's first Ivy League championship in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

. Crouthamel was named a third-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary new ...

in 1958. He recorded 1,763 rushing yards, a total that stood as Dartmouth's record for over a decade and ranks sixth all-time as of 2022. He was a second-team selection on the All-Ivy 25th anniversary squad. In 1960, Crouthamel was drafted by the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, but signed with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, becoming the first player signed by NFL's expansion Dallas Cowboys. He was the last player cut in the preseason by the Cowboys, and ended up playing with the AFL's

Boston Patriots Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

for one year in their

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

season.

Coaching career

Crouthamel spent three years in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and one year as football coach at

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent college-preparatory boarding and day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximately 4 ...

Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Mercersburg is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, the state capital. Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively la ...

Dartmouth football head coach

Crouthamel returned to Dartmouth as a member of

Bob Blackman Robert John Blackman Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP (born 26 April 1956) is a British politician who has been the chairman of the 1922 Committee and chair of the Backbench Business Committee since 2024. A member of the Conservative ...

's coaching staff in 1965. When Blackman left in 1971 to become the head coach at the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Crouthamel took over. His teams compiled a record of 41–20–2 (.667) and won or shared three consecutive

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

championships (1971–73). He was named the New England and NCAA District I Coach of the Year in 1973. He resigned on November 3, 1977, to become the athletics director at Syracuse University.

Syracuse University athletic director

Crouthamel was named the ninth athletic director at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in March 1978. He oversaw the construction and opening of the

Carrier Dome The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022), is a domed stadium in Syracuse, New York, United States. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University Hill neighborhood, it is home to the Syracuse Orange foot ...

, construction and expansion of the football wing at the Manley Field House, and improvement in women's athletics fostered by

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

. During his tenure,

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

teams won nine national championships (

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

national title in

men's basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and eight men's lacrosse championships), 12 football bowl appearances and 22 overall

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

conference championships. He hired successful football coaches Dick MacPherson and Paul Pasqualoni. He played a key role in the formation of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

in 1979. He served as conference president, a member of the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee, and a member of the BIG EAST television negotiating committee. He retired from Syracuse University on June 30, 2005.

Honors and awards

Crouthamel was recognized as an honorary Syracuse University Letterwinner of Distinction in 1995. In 1999, he was the third recipient of the John L. Toner Award for dedication to college athletics. In 2000, Jake Crouthamel was named the NACDA Division IA Northeast Region Athletics Director of the Year and received the Chancellor's Citation for Excellence in 2002. In 2007, he received the

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from ...

(ECAC) James Lynah Distinguished Achievement Award. In 2008, he was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame. In 2009, Crouthamel was an honoree at the biennial

Football Players Association dinner which recognizes a former player from each of the eight Ivy schools who has become a leader in his chosen field. Crouthamel was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Head coaching record

Personal life and death

Crouthamel was married to Carol until his death, and they have two daughters. After retiring in 2005, the couple lived in

Centerville, Massachusetts Centerville is one of the seven villages in the Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States, on Cape Cod. Located on the South Side of Barnstable, Centerville is primarily residential, and includes a small business district as well as sev ...

, until moving to

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...

in 2013. He died on November 6, 2022, at age 84.

References

External links

Profile
by the

National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and develop "the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academi ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crouthamel, Jake 1938 births 2022 deaths American football halfbacks American Football League players Boston Patriots players Dartmouth Big Green football coaches Dartmouth Big Green football players Syracuse Orange athletic directors People from Perkasie, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania