Tammy Crawford

Position: Varsity Coach

Tammy Crawford enters her 17th season as collegiate coach, and her 12th season as head coach of the varsity women's rowing program at Washington State University.

Crawford competed as a club rower for the Cougars from 1981 to 1984, and graduated from WSU in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in biology and secondary education. She began her coaching career in 1986 as the novice coach of the WSU club team. In 1987, Crawford moved to Seattle where she completed an internship as a graduate assistant coach with the novice crew at Washington. In 1988, she became the full-time novice coach for the Huskies and spent the following three years coaching first-year college rowers.

In 1990, Crawford returned to Pullman as head coach of the newly established varsity program at WSU. Within Crawford's first five years of coaching, her rowing teams have captured five Pacific-10 victories and one national championship. Overall, WSU has on both the varsity and novice levels a total of two National Championships, and six Pac-10 Championships. Additionally, nine other WSU rowing teams have finished in the top three at the Pac-10 championships and three other crews have finished in the top six nationally.

Last season, she coached a varsity eight squad that was nationally ranked throughout the season and competed with determination and strength against a strong Pac-10 league to finished tied for second overall.

Under Crawford, squad size has since increased and the varsity squad has maintained a grade point average of 3.10. Retention of athletes within the program is also high, as this year WSU boasts 28 returners for the 2001-02 season.

Eleven seasons have passed since Crawford and the Cougars took the step from club to varsity status. Crawford has led the development of a Pac-10 rowing power that feels both strong in the traditions of being a Cougar, and achieving the high standards that WSU has inside the classroom and out.

Crawford maintains the philosophy that strong team unity can be rewarding not only for the enhancement of individual strength and determination, but also for the high levels of endurance and fun that can be attained.

In addition to her duties at Washington State, Crawford was a member of the US Junior National Team coaching staff from 1989 to 1991, and she assisted at the 1991 pre-elite camp, an invitational summer camp for college rowers who aspire to become Olympians.

Crawford, a native of Marysville, Wash., is a 1980 graduate from Marysville Pilchuck High School. She and her husband Roger live in Pullman with their two sons, Michael, and Jim.