ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — At his (re)introductory press conference, Jim Crowley was funny, self-deprecating and serious. He was likable, honest and friendly all in one.
Yup, he was the same guy St. Bonaventure fans knew and loved a decade ago.
In front of some 50 media, St. Bonaventure athletic staff and community members Monday morning, Crowley was introduced as the head coach of the Bonnies women’s basketball team, a title he previously held from 2000-16.
University president Jeff Gingerich and athletic director Joe Manhertz were there, two men who are new to campus since Crowley’s departure. But both know him now and that he’s a good fit to be back.
“IT’S A great day for St. Bonaventure athletics, but a great day for St. Bonaventure University overall as we welcome a friend and colleague back home,” Dr. Gingerich said. “When I first spoke to Jim, his love for St. Bonaventure and our Franciscan mission really came through. I’m very excited where we’re going to go in the future. There’s no doubt that he’s the fit for us here. Jim’s reputation precedes him in so many ways. The outpouring of people who told me, ‘if you can’t get Jim, get someone like Jim,’ was incredible. That said a lot.”
Also present for the assembly at Doyle Hall conference center were a contingent of people with whom Crowley is familiar – former women’s coach MJ Telford, executive/associate ADs Steve Campbell, Steve Mest and Sean McNamee, and communications director Scott Eddy. Most importantly, Crowley’s wife, Monti – an Olean native – and daughter, Jocelyn, were front and center.
“This place is family,” Crowley said. “It is interwoven in all that I am and all that I have. So to come back here and be part of this community, part of this school, part of this program, is heaven. In the best possible way.”
CROWLEY, 52, left St. Bonaventure for Providence College in May 2016. It came after the university’s second NCAA Tournament appearance and a trip to the Round of 32. He departed to Providence after 20 years with the university, first as an assistant coach (1996-99) and later associate head coach (99-00 season) before being elevated to the head job beginning in the 2000 season replacing Marti Whitmore. The 1993 Keuka College graduate was head coach at his alma mater for three seasons following graduation before arriving at St. Bonaventure.
In 16 seasons as head coach, Crowley compiled a 258-231 record (108-134 in Atlantic 10 play). His teams twice reached the NCAA Tournament (2012, 2016) and four times qualified for the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. His teams routinely finished with stellar academics in addition to finding on-court success. Crowley’s teams finished with 20-plus wins six times in his last eight seasons and he exited as the winningest coach in program history by a substantial margin.
At Providence, he had some success. His teams went 85-126 overall (32-93 in the Big East). The Friars went to the WNIT in 2019, advancing to the quarterfinals. This past season Providence finished 13-19. It was Crowley’s dream to coach in the Big East, becoming enamored with the conference growing up, when teams like Syracuse, Connecticut and Georgetown ran the league. An offer to coach at Providence, an original member of the Big East, was too good an offer for the 2009, ‘12 and ‘14 Atlantic 10 Coach Of The Year to refuse.
“(His successful teams) allowed me to follow a dream and coach in the Big East,” Crowley said. “The Big East is the Big East and I had my shot. Providence is a great place and had anything I could want, but there was always something missing.”
WHEN former Bonnies coach Jesse Fleming was dismissed on Jan. 15, Crowley was still under contract with Providence. A week ago, he and Providence agreed to mutually split ways, and he said in a press release that “it was the right time for both me and the program to change course.”
His Bonaventure career started in 1996, when he was hired as an assistant for Whitmore after three years at Keuka. When she left the program, Crowley was promoted to head coach. He didn’t encounter much success early but later shifted his philosophy to a defensive-centric, ball-control mindset and that immediately paid dividends. In the 2006-07 season the team finished 16-15, its first winning season in 10 years. That was a catalyst, as, over the next handful of seasons the team had 18, 23, 23, 21, 31 and 24 wins. There were two marginal seasons mixed in, but the Bonnies went on an unprecedented run of both regular season and postseason success. A lot of that had to do with the type of players and people whom Crowley recruited.
“We built it on great people, we built it on a lot of work, we built it on a lot of discipline,” Crowley said. “That’s going to be our blueprint. It’s going to take a minute, but that’s the plan. That’s what we’re going to focus on.”
COLLEGE ATHLETICS have changed substantially since Crowley left, with NILs and the transfer portal and the never-ending rule changes and edits of the NCAA. St. Bonaventure is still a very small school, and doesn’t have the same high reputation in women’s basketball that it did a decade ago. Saint Louis, the women’s Atlantic 10 Tournament winner this, was 17-17 overall. It won nine games the year prior.
“It’s a very unique time,” Crowley said. “You can see how much it’s changed. The one thing that I try to be really self aware of is how things have to adapt and how to continue to build relationships with people who have been through a lot. All the kids you’re recruiting now have gone through COVID. Being realistic about that but doing some continuing the standards and demands of what it takes to be successful is a challenge and it’s something to continue to stay aware of and work through.”
When the press conference began, Manhertz noted, “Jim is one of us. He wants to be here, and the fact that he came and trusted us, we can’t thank him enough. Knowing what he meant to this program, and understanding what he did and how he accomplished it was really important for us. He fit what Bonaventure meant.”
