 Media Credit: Ryan Joyce Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo shakes hands with new women's head basketball coach Sylvia Crawley, who takes over for Cathy Inglese.
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On Tuesday afternoon, Boston College announced the hiring of 36-year-old Sylvia Crawley as the head women's basketball coach. Crawley replaces former Eagles' coach Cathy Inglese, who resigned on April 10.
Crawley spent the past two seasons at Ohio University, guiding the Bobcats to a 38-25 mark in her two seasons on the job. Her record was the best two-year start for any Ohio women's basketball coach, and in the 2007-2008 season, she led the Bobcats to their first 20-win season since 1994-1995.
"It's a very exciting day here at the Heights," said BC Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo. "She has a great basketball past," he said, alluding to her experience as a head coach and a player.
Before becoming the head coach at Ohio, Crawley spent one season as the top assistant coach at Fordham, where she became the team's interim head coach following the midseason retirement of head coach Jim Lewis. She also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at her alma mater of North Carolina, under the tutelage of head coach Sylvia Hatchell.
"I'm extremely happy to be back in the ACC, and competing in the ACC," Crawley said.
It was in the Tar Heel state that Crawley began her journey to Chestnut Hill. After growing up in Ohio, she attended North Carolina on a basketball scholarship. Crawley played for four years, scoring over 1,000 points in her career. In the 1993-1994 season, she was the captain of the team that won the national championship, where she was named Final Four MVP.
Crawley's success on the court continued after her graduation. In 1995, she was named the USA Female Basketball Player of the Year after leading America to a silver medal at the World University Games. Following several professional seasons in Europe, the ABL, and the WNBA, she then decided to opt for a career in coaching.
As a coach, Crawley said that her philosophy is to play an aggressive style of basketball. "I believe in an up-tempo style of play," she said during Tuesday's press conference. "I think we need to get up and down the court and just have more possessions." She then mentioned that the best teams typically score in the 80-point range, noting that BC averaged just 63.9 points per game last season.
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