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), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

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 university, universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of c ...

Early life and education

Crouthamel was born in eastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

to Kathryn Apple and Russell Crouthamel, who ran the family business making men's trousers during the war. He attended

Pennridge High School Pennridge School District is located approximately north of Philadelphia in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The district Pennridge School District, covers approximately with a total population of 45,000 and encompasses eight municipalities, includ ...

, 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 research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

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 nati ...

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. Crouthamel was named a third-team All-American 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 ne ...

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 Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

, 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 (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

for one year in their inaugural season.

Coaching career

Crouthamel spent three years in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and one year as football coach at

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

Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County, located near the southern border of Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively large percentage ...

Dartmouth football head coach

Crouthamel returned to Dartmouth as a member of

Bob Blackman Robert John Blackman (born 26 April 1956) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow East since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Joint Executive Secretary of the backbench 1922 ...

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, 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 athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schoo ...

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. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

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

Carrier Dome The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022) and colloquially called "The Dome," or more recently "The JMA Dome," is a domed sports stadium in Syracuse, New York. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the Universit ...

, 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 the most commonly used name for the 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 educa ...

. During his tenure,

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the 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 Conference. The school's mascot is O ...

teams won nine national championships (

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

national title in men's basketball and eight men's lacrosse championships), 12 football bowl appearances and 22 overall

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

conference championships. He hired successful football coaches Dick MacPherson and

Paul Pasqualoni Paul Lucian Pasqualoni (; born August 16, 1949) is an American football coach. He most recently was the defensive line coach for the Carolina Panthers. Pasqualoni has served as the defensive coordinator of the NFL's Miami Dolphins and Detroit L ...

. He played a key role in the formation of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

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 fro ...

(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 on Cape Cod. Located on the South Side of Barnstable, Centerville is primarily residential, and includes a small business district as well as several notable beach ...

, until moving to

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

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 and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and "developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the dr ...

* {{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