Joe Crispin, one of Penn State’s all-time great players and who just finished his third season as an assistant coach for the Nittany Lions, has reportedly accepted the head coaching position at the Air Force Academy.
Crispin played for Penn State from 1997-2001.
He was part of the dramatic NCAA tournament run that upset powerhouse North Carolina in 2001 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. He played professionally overseas for numerous years and also for the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns in 2001-2002.
Before returning to his alma mater, Crispin turned heads as an assistant coach and head coach for Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. During his head coaching tenure at Rowan (2016-2023), he coached the Profs to a 114-54 record, three NCAA Tournament appearances, and helped guide Rowan to be one of the most dynamic offenses in the country averaging more 80-90+ points per game.
Crispin helped lay a strong foundation during his first year as an assistant coach at Penn State in 2023-24. As offensive coordinator, he helped orchestrate the highest-scoring offense under a first-year head coach at Penn State since 1954-55 as the Nittany Lions averaged 75.1 points per game in Mike Rhoades’ first season. Penn State’s 75.2 points per game in regular-season Big Ten play was the second-highest in Penn State’s 32 seasons in the Big Ten, behind only to the 2000-01 Nittany Lions team that averaged 75.4 points per Big Ten game. Crispin was a senior on this 2000-01 team and averaged 19.5 points per game.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.This past season, Crispin’s offense averaged 73.7 points per game and helped to lead four Nittany Lions to average double-digits in scoring.
Redshirt junior, Freddie Dilione V., led the team in scoring averaging 14.0 ppg., freshman Kayden Mingo scored 13.7 ppg., senior Josh Reed followed at 11.5 ppg. and freshman Ivan Juric tallied 10.2 ppg.
Crispin enters the Air Force Academy where the Falcons compete in the Mountain West Conference and finished this past season with an overall record of (3-29).
