The Big 4 will have at least one new basketball coach next season, and that new coach isn’t so new.
The St. Bonaventure athletic department announced Friday that it has hired Jim Crowley to coach its women’s basketball program. Crowley returns to St. Bonaventure after seven seasons as head coach of the Providence women’s basketball team; Crowley coached the Bonnies from 2000-16, and took over as the Friars’ head coach after the 2015-16 season.
Crowley won 258 games as coach of the Bonnies, and led them to two NCAA Tournament berths, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2012 and four Women’s NIT berths. In 2012, ESPN.com recognized Crowley as its national coach of the year.
Providence’s athletic department announced Crowley’s resignation this week, and Bona’s athletic department will formally introduce – or reintroduce – Crowley at 11 a.m. Monday in Allegany.
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"Bonaventure is home. It never left me," Crowley said in a statement released by Bona's athletic department. "The people, the memories and the spirit have always been in me. It isn't just a place; it's a feeling; it's a community that's unmatched. I'm thrilled to come back.”
Crowley was 85-126 at Providence, including a 32-93 record in the Big East. Providence was 13-19 and 4-16 this season, and lost to DePaul in the first round of the Big East Tournament.
"The opportunity to bring Jim home was something that was too good to pass up," Bonnies Athletic Director Joe Manhertz said in a statement. "The fact that we are able to bring in a respected winner who has National Coach of the Year on his résumé speaks volumes about where this program has been and where we feel it can go again. Coach Crowley knows what Bonaventure is about; he has brought us to the highest levels and we know we can get back there."
Crowley will take over a team that hasn’t had a winning season since he left.
Bona fired Jesse Fleming – Crowley’s successor – in January, after more than six seasons at the helm of the Bonnies. Erica Morrow, an assistant on Fleming’s staff, was Bona’s interim coach for the remainder of the season, but were 3-9 in the final 12 games of the season, losing in the first round of the Atlantic 10 women’s tournament to Davidson.
In Fleming’s six-plus seasons as coach, the Bonnies have finished no higher than tied for 10th in the Atlantic 10, and didn’t have a winning season in that span. The Bonnies were 53-135 in Fleming’s seven seasons, including 25-77 in the Atlantic 10.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.