Jim Crutchfield is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Nova Southeastern Sharks men's basketball team.

Jim Crutchfield
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamNova Southeastern
ConferenceSunshine State
Biographical details
Alma materWest Virginia University
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
1979–1989Cameron HS
1989–2004West Liberty (assistant)
2004–2017West Liberty
2017–presentNova Southeastern
Tennis
1989–2004West Liberty
Head coaching record
Overall532–85
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards
  • NABC Division II Coach of the Year (2023)
  • Clarence Gaines Award (2023)
  • 5 WVIAC Coach of the Year (2005, 2010–2013)
  • MEC Coach of the Year (2014)
  • 3 SSC Coach of the Year (2019, 2022, 2023)

Early life

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Crutchfield grew up in Clarksburg, West Virginia and attended Roosevelt-Wilson High School, where he played basketball.[1] He graduated from West Virginia University in 1978.[2]

Coaching career

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Crutchfield began his coaching career as the head coach of Cameron High School, where he also taught mathmatics.[3]

Crutchfield was originally hired as the head men's and women's tennis coach and as an assistant men's basketball coach for the West Liberty Hilltoppers in 1989.[4] As a tennis coach, he won a combined 11 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) titles and was named the WVIAC Coach of the Year eight times.[5] He was hired as the head men's basketball coach at West Liberty in 2004.[6]

Crutchfield was hired as the head coach at Nova Southeastern on March 21, 2017.[7] During the 2022–2023 he coached the Sharks to a 36–0 record as the team won the 2023 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament.[8] The following season, Nova Southeastern went 32–3 and returned to the national championship game where they lost to Minnesota State 88–85.[9]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
West Liberty Hilltoppers (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (2004–2013)
2004–05 West Liberty 21–10 13-6
2005–06 West Liberty 21–8 11–7
2006–07 West Liberty 25–5 17–1 NCAA Division II First Round
2007–08 West Liberty 23–6 14-5
2008–09 West Liberty 23–7 16–4
2009–10 West Liberty 29–3 21–1 NCAA Division II Sweet 16
2010–11 West Liberty 33–1 22–0 NCAA Division II Final Four
2011–12 West Liberty 32–3 21–1 NCAA Division II Elite Eight
2012–13 West Liberty 34–2 21–1 NCAA Division II Final Four
West Liberty Hilltoppers (Mountain East Conference) (2013–2017)
2013–14 West Liberty 31–4 20–2 NCAA Division II Runner-Up
2014–15 West Liberty 28–4 21–2 NCAA Division II Sweet 16
2015–16 West Liberty 31–4 20–2 NCAA Division II Final Four
2016–17 West Liberty 28–4 19–3 NCAA Division II First Round
West Liberty: 359–61 (.855) 236–35 (.871)
Nova Southeastern (Sunshine State Conference) (2017–present)
2017–18 Nova Southeastern 17–10 11–9 T–4th
2018–19 Nova Southeastern 29–4 18–2 1st NCAA Division II Elite Eight
2019–20 Nova Southeastern 23–6 15–5 2nd No postseason held
2020–21 Nova Southeastern[a]
2021–22 Nova Southeastern 31–1 20–0 1st NCAA Division II Elite Eight
2022–23 Nova Southeastern 36–0 20–0 1st NCAA Division II Champion
2023–24 Nova Southeastern 32–3 18–2 NCAA Division II Runner-Up
2024–25 Nova Southeastern 5–0
Nova Southeastern: 173–24 (.878) 102–18 (.850)
Total: 532–85 (.862)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

  1. ^ Nova Southeastern did not play in the 2020–21 school year due to COVID-19 concerns.

References

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  1. ^ Ryan, Rick (June 18, 2023). "Rick Ryan: Will D-II coach Crutchfield be among candidates for WVU job?". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Crutchfield tops all coaches in winning percentage". Times West Virginian. November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  3. ^ Weinreb, Michael (February 20, 2013). "Hurry Up and Wait". Grantland. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "Jim Crutchfield 'miracle man' at West Liberty". The Register-Herald. May 15, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  5. ^ "Former WLU Hoops Coach Crutchfield Displays Tennis Skills". The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register. June 9, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  6. ^ "Crutchfield simply has the winning recipe wherever he goes to coach". The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register. March 11, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  7. ^ "NSU hires Div. II veteran Jim Crutchfield as men's basketball coach". Sun Sentinel. March 21, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  8. ^ "NSU Sharks win first men's basketball national championship, end perfect 36-0 season". Sun Sentinel. March 25, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  9. ^ Villa, Walter (October 29, 2024). "Surprise return of point guard could fuel more NSU success". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
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