Randy Crawford is the new assistant athletic director at Tennessee Temple University May 2014As Tennessee Temple University continues to rebuild its athletic program, alumnus Randy Crawford will be more involved than he already has been.
Crawford, a TTU baseball player in the 1970s who has coached the school's revived softball program the last three years, will add the duties of assistant athletic director on July 1. A longtime teacher and coach who also filled in for administrators on occasion before retiring from the Hamilton County school system in 2013, the 58-year-old Crawford brings several strengths to the position, athletic director Kenrick Liburd said Thursday.
"His experience in our field, for one thing. He has a master's in education," Liburd said. "He brings a wealth of knowledge about not just Tennessee Temple but the city of Chattanooga and athletics in the Chattanooga area. He has coached multiple sports at the middle school, high school and college levels, and his second year here his team reached the regional final.
"Coach Crawford has great rapport with people, and he's extremely organized. He's also a strong spiritual leader, which has got to be at the core of what we do," Liburd added. "This is just progression for us."
Liburd noted Crawford's connections to alumni and the local business community, and Crawford confirmed that one of his priorities would be to help build a booster club for Temple athletics. He'll also oversee the school's transportation vehicles for the sports teams, he said, and be available to sit in with or for Liburd at meetings.
"I love it here," Crawford said. "When I first came back [to coach], I admit that I prayed a lot, 'God, restore your glory to this school.' I believe he's doing that, and I'm not looking now at what it was but what it can be. I think the school is refocused on what's important athletically, and I think our alumni can be proud of what's going on here -- not just in athletics but proud of the school."
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.