(August 29, 2005) - Fordham Head Coach Jim Lewis announced the appointment of Sylvia Crawley as top assistant women??s basketball coach for the Rams in 2005-06.
Crawley, a 1994 graduate of North Carolina with a dual degree, heads to Rose Hill with an enormous amount of basketball experience as both a player and a coach.
Aside from her playing career, Crawley brings basketball coaching experience to Fordham, after serving as an assistant coach at North Carolina from 2000-02, where she was responsible for player development, opponent scouting, recruiting, and preseason conditioning.
As a player, Crawley had a distinguished career at the University of North Carolina, serving as team captain of the 1994 NCAA Championship team, which went 33-2, and captured the Coaches?? NCAA Final Four MVP Award. Along the way that year, she was selected to the East Region All-Tournament team, as well as to the All-ACC Tournament team, helping North Carolina to the 1994 ACC Championship. As a Tar Heel, Crawley had her #00 jersey honored in 2000 and was named to the ACC??s 50th Anniversary team in 2003. She stands as one of 24 players with more than 1,000 career points at North Carolina, and still ranks among the career leaders in blocks (4th) and field goal percentage (6th).
Following her stellar collegiate career, Crawley received the Dapper Dan Woman of the Year Award, and was selected to the USA Basketball team, where she was selected as the 1995 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year and was an Alternate for the 1996 USA Olympic Basketball team. In 1997, she was named as a replacement to the USA World Championship Qualifying Team that earned the silver medal.
Along with playing for her country, Crawley has found herself on numerous professional teams, starting in the Professional European League, and then eventually playing in the ABL and the WNBA. In the ABL, she played for both the Colorado Explosion and the Portland Power, helping the Explosion to the Western Conference Championship.
Crawley then played for the WNBA??s Portland Fire for three seasons, serving as team captain, and was then traded to the San Antonio Silver Stars, where she also served as team captain. While with San Antonio, Crawley also worked in the San Antonio Spurs/Stars Front Office, gaining valuable experience in marketing, public relations, operations and general management.
Following her work in San Antonio, she has been the CEO of Ephod Customs since 2003, which make custom clothing for men and women. Crawley is involved with all facets of the industry, including sales, marketing, fashion design, and distribution.
Recently, Crawley has again laced up her sneakers, playing professionally in Korea in 2005.
TRANSACTIONS: Fordham hires
Sylvia Crawley as assistant women's basketball coach.
