Marquette University Athletics
Tom Crean Named Marquette Head Coach
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 30, 1999
MILWAUKEE - Marquette University announced today that Tom Crean has been named head coach of the men's basketball team.
Crean has served on the coaching staff at Michigan State for the past four seasons and helped lead the Spartans to back-to-back Big Ten Conference regular-season titles in 1998 and 1999. MSU also captured this year's Big Ten tournament crown and advanced to the Final Four of this year's NCAA tournament.
"Very early on in this search, we focused in on Tom Crean," said Marquette's president, the Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., "because we realized he possessed everything we were looking for - great recruiting ability, knowledge of the Midwest, successful coaching experience, a tremendous work ethic - and he shared our vision for what this program is capable of becoming."
"This is the culmination of an unbelievable year for my family and me," Crean said. "I am very excited about coming to Marquette and beginning a new chapter here. I'm coming with great enthusiasm and a willingness to work as hard as it takes to help the university and the program keep achieving excellence."
Crean was promoted to associate head coach at MSU in 1997 and also served as the staff's recruiting coordinator. He recruited and developed Mateen Cleaves, two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and a member of this season's Associated Press All-America team. Michigan State has compiled an 88-40 record and advanced to post-season play in each of Crean's four seasons in East Lansing.
"Tom has multidimensional strengths," said Tom Izzo, Michigan State's head coach. "He has been known for his recruiting but his coaching, game preparation and ability to relate to players are all excellent. To move into a program that has as much tradition as Marquette and that plays in a great conference is not only a feather in his cap but also for our program at Michigan State. I know he'll be very successful there."
Prior to his tenure at Michigan State, Crean spent the 1994-95 season as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh. He was a member of the Western Kentucky coaching staff from the 1990-91 to 1993-94 campaigns. The Hilltoppers compiled an 81-42 record and particpated in the NCAA tournament twice (1993 and 1994) and in the NIT once (1992).
Crean got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Michigan State in the 1989-90 season when the Spartans claimed the Big Ten title and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
A native of Mount Pleasant, Mich., Crean earned a bachelor's degree in parks and recreation with a minor in psychology from Central Michigan in 1989. While an undergraduate student, he coached at Alma College as well as at Mount Pleasant High School.
Crean is married to the former Joani Harbaugh. The couple has a daughter, Megan, and are expecting another child shortly.
