Jake Crouthamel

John Jacob Crouthamel (June 27, 1938 November 6, 2022) was an American football player, coach, and college athletic director.

Early life and education Crouthamel was born in eastern Pennsylvania 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 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. 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 the last player cut in the preseason by the Cowboys, and ended up playing with the AFL's Boston Patriots for one year in their inaugural season.

Coaching career Crouthamel spent three years in the US Navy and one year as football coach at Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. 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. He oversaw the construction and opening of the Carrier Dome, construction and expansion of the football wing at the Manley Field House, and improvement in women's athletics fostered by Title IX. During his tenure, Syracuse Orange teams won nine national championships (2003 national title in men's basketball and eight men's lacrosse championships), 12 football bowl appearances and 22 overall Big East 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 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 2009, Crouthamel was an honoree at the biennial Ivy League 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.