St. Bonaventure's Crowley Named BCANY Coach Of The Year

Crowley led the Bonnies women's basketball team to a program record 23 wins this past season and their first postseason appearance in program history, with an at-large berth into the WNIT.

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April 29, 2009

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -- St. Bonaventure women's basketball head coach Jim Crowley has been named the New Balance - Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY), Women's Division I Coach of the Year.

The Windsor, N.Y., native just completed his ninth season at the helm of the Brown and White, and is coming off the most successful campaign in school history. Crowley led the Bonnies to a program record 23 wins this past season and their first postseason appearance in program history, with an at-large berth into the WNIT.

Crowley is just the second St. Bonaventure women's basketball head coach to win the BCANY Division I Coach of the Year award since its inception in 1986. Marti Whitmore received the honor back in 1998. This is Crowley's second significant honor for the coaching job he did this past season. He was named the 2008-09 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, back in March, becoming the first coach in program history to receive that impressive honor.

The Bonnies won nine Atlantic 10 games this season, setting a new program record for most conference wins in a single-season. St. Bonaventure finished the season in a four-way tie for fourth place in the A-10 with a 9-5 conference record, which is its best conference finish in program history. The Bonnies advanced to the quarterfinals in their WNIT run this past season, before falling to eventual champion South Florida. This year's squad also became the first team in program history to beat three BCS schools in the same season after wins over nationally ranked Michigan State, West Virginia and on the road at Wisconsin.

Crowley has been a catalyst in the Brown and White's resurgence over the past few seasons. He has led the team to three straight winning seasons for the first time in program history, and has compiled a program record 41 wins over the past two seasons. The Basketball Coaches Association of New York is an organization that is made up of basketball coaches of all scholastic and collegiate levels throughout the entire state of New York. The organization was founded in 1983 and was headed up this year by Siena women's basketball head coach Gina Castelli.

Crowley will lead a solid group of nine returning letter winners, including two-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference second team selection Dana Mitchell, going into play next season.