'I'll miss the people': Cowan AD Suzanne Crump retires for good

MUNCIE, Ind. — Suzanne Crump retired once before, but this time it’s for good.

As the 2023 high school spring sports season ended, so too did the career of a Delaware County staple. Crump settled in Muncie in 1997, raised a family and spent most of the last 27 years in various administrative roles at Cowan and Muncie Community Schools.

Several years ago, Crump half-joked with her husband, Michael, that she’d call it quits at the age of 62. She’ll hit that mark in July and stay true to her word.

The two will eventually move to full-time Bloomington as well, closer to Michael’s job and back in the town of Crump’s alma mater, Indiana University. She leaves behind a memorable tenure with the area’s athletics, a period of her life she’ll continue to cherish.

“I won't miss the late nights. I'll miss the people more than anything,” Crump said. “And not just the Cowan people, but the other athletic directors that you get to know and administrators and coaches who you get to know. I'll miss that the most.”

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'I grew up being a tomboy'

Crump has been involved in sports her whole life. Her family’s passion for athletics quickly ignited an interest, so whether it was playing with fellow kids in the neighborhood, watching it on television or attending events, Crump was thrust into the action.

“I grew up being a tomboy,” Crump said. “Always outside playing with kids in the neighborhood. Just enjoyed it. Our family is just kind of a sports family.”

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That early involvement put Crump ahead of the curve by the time she entered Western High School in Russiaville in the mid-1970s. She became a star in volleyball, basketball and track, earning 10 total varsity letters.

Crump planned to attend IU after graduating, but an opportunity to play basketball in Lebanon, Tennessee, at Cumberland Junior College delayed her Hoosier initiation. She earned her associate’s degree before transferring to Bloomington, where made a spur-of-the-moment decision to tryout for the IU softball squad.

She’d only dabbled in slow-pitch softball before joining the Hoosiers as a walk-on, yet Crump became a part of a historic run for the program from 1982-84, highlighted by a Big Ten Champion and trip to the College Softball World Series in 1983.

Off the field, Crump earned a teaching degree, a career path she long sought to pursue after being influenced by several educators in her family. It also provided an avenue to remain in sports by being a coach.

“I just never saw myself doing anything else. I don't know why,” Crump said. “But just always loved competition and just loved athletics.”

She taught math — mostly geometry and algebra — and spent one semester at Carrollton Kentucky before joining Tri-Central as the softball and basketball coach and teacher. Marion, though, is where she landed her first long-term position.

Crump spent 10 years with Giants, starting the softball program and becoming introduced to athletic administration. She never envisioned getting involved in that side of education but enjoyed helping in the department and eventually received her administrative license from Ball State University in 1990.

She put that qualification into use soon after joining Cowan in 1997. She started as a teacher-coach before being named athletic director in 1999, a position she held for eight years.

“Seven of the eight years I was the athletic director we were in the state volleyball finals,” Crump said. “I think that's always something that has stood out.”

Crump, however, then pivoted away from athletics for a few years. She became assistant principal at Muncie Central from 2007-11, then worked as the director of the Muncie area Career Center from 2012-14.

But as the community combined its high schools into one in 2014, Crump stepped back into the athletic director’s seat for that merger until 2017, when she was reassigned amid a slew of turnover due to MCS' financial trouble before ultimately retiring the first time.

It was a major change that saw its share of challenges, but one she’s proud to be a part of.

“Such a lot of hard work went into that, not just even me, I was a part of much bigger picture,” Crump said. “But the community came together. I think we were able to put our two high schools together and did a pretty good job of doing that.

“The kids were awesome. It was just a great first year, that merge, and I think the second two years I was involved was still as good, but I will always remember that first home football game as one school.”

Crump then pivoted to a job as an Indiana sales representative for FinalForms, an educational software company, until the AD position at Cowan opened up in 2019.

Still armed with the itch to be around high school athletics, she couldn't resist applying.

“Kind of come full circle here,” Crump said in 2019 after getting hired. “The position opened up at Cowan and I expressed an interest to them, went through the interview process and lucky enough to be able to go back.”

'Something I'll never forget'

From teaching and coaching around the state to leading athletic departments at schools in Class 1A and 4A, Crump has seen it all during her nearly four-decade-long career.

Although the individual and team accomplishments of her students are notable, she said the relationships made along the way are what she looks back mostly fondly on.

“The biggest thing probably is just all the people that you meet and the friends you make,” Crump said. “And then watching your student athletes go out and be successful as adults I think, no matter where you are, stands out.”

Crump sees differences in managing larger and smaller athletic departments, too. There are positives and negatives in both circumstances, but she also feels there can be misconceptions.

“There's a lot of great kids in the Muncie schools, a lot of great kids in Cowan,” Crump said. “I think sometimes people don't think the smaller schools can produce the great athletes or great … people that go out and do great things, and I think that's so far from the truth.

“I think the other thing, too, in the Muncie schools, it sometimes gets a negative rap, but that's so far from the truth. There are so many good kids (and) positive things that go on in the big schools, but sometimes people like to focus on the negatives.”

Crump’s retirement also comes at a time when both Cowan and Central athletics shined. During Crump's final period with the Blackhawks, she witnessed a volleyball state title, three straight softball regional championships, back-to-back boys basketball sectionals, a girls basketball sectional win and multiple wrestlers competing in the state meet.

From afar, she also saw the Bearcats, under new athletic director Jeff Holloway, revive their athletic standing with new coaches and improved records across almost all sports.

"I had lived through the days as the athletic director, and we needed that. I'm glad to finally see it come to fruition for the kids and the community,” Crump said. “I think Jeff's doing a great job as the athletic director there. I'm excited. I kind of would like to be there for the first football game when that happens."

Crump has also seen her share of trying times, the worst being the sudden death of former Cowan boys basketball head coach Lee Ingles.

Emotions still rush to the surface when she speaks his name. It’s a tragedy she’ll never fully move past, yet the months afterward were some of the most powerful and impactful period of her life.

“That was probably the toughest thing that we've ever had to go through,” Crump said. “And how the kids bounced back from that that second year I think is something I'll never forget.”

Through the good times and rough patches, Crump continued to make an impact, so much so that it caught the attention of IU.

In 2021, Crump was honored with the university’s Leanne Grotke Award, which "celebrates women whose service contributed greatly to IU’s Women’s Athletics."

“I didn't see it coming. It's a pretty prestigious award, to be honest,” Crump said. “I probably don't give myself enough credit a lot of times, but yeah, I was shocked and very humbled by it and very proud of it.”

'Rely on those with experience'

Crump has a clear No. 1 priority in retirement.

“I want to play pickleball,” Crump said. "There's a lot of that that goes on in Bloomington, I know.”

She also hopes to travel and continue seeing the evolution of women’s athletics. When she first started competing, there weren’t even official state tournaments for some girls sports.

“When I was in high school, I think one of the earliest memories I have is in eighth grade, back in the mid '70s, they were going to have a junior high volleyball team and they asked me to play on it. And some of the other girls and I said, ‘Well, how many games gonna play?’ and they said, 'One,' and I said, 'No. I'm not going to practice for one game.’

“But we used the same uniform in volleyball, basketball and track when I was in high school for the first couple of years. The boys had a fancy locker room for basketball. We just used the PE locker room. So there were differences.”

She remembers the first state girls basketball tournament when she was a freshman in high school, back when she and fellow girls were simply happy to be playing at all. Seeing that sport and others, like volleyball, become prominent parts of the sports conversation has been a thrill.

Crump has also seen athletic directors devote more attention to girls athletics over the years, being more cognizant of boys and girls teams getting equal quality equipment and opportunities. It’s still not perfect, but she commended the work that her fellow Delaware County AD’s have done, in particular.

As the competition and exposure has increased, though, Crump does worry if kids and parents have “lost sight of why we play.”

She’s not a fan of AAU or the year-round training culture. Crump feels it can take some of the fun out of sports, making it overly serious and raising pressure too high. She hopes it doesn't take away the joy of playing for one's high school, even if the competition level at a small school like Cowan is lesser.

“It's still nice to see kids put on the jersey that has your community name on it and have a lot of pride playing for your school teams, and I think we've been fortunate that at Cowan, here in Muncie, that kids still really love to do that," Crump said. "It means a lot when you put your name of your school or community on the front of your jersey and you're playing for something bigger than you. I just think that there's a place for that and I hope that doesn't go away.”

Even in retirement and across the state, Crump will remain a resource for any colleague.

She's enjoyed her interactions with fellow longtime Delaware County athletic directors like Wes-Del's Kye Denney and Yorktown's Paul Heidenreich, as well as newcomers like Delta's Tilmon Clark and others. Mike Schuck is her successor at Cowan, and she's happy to help advise in any way she can if need be.

Crump knows she didn't last as long as she did without plenty of help, and she'll continue that cycle of giving back.

"Just rely on those with experience. Don't be afraid to ask questions," Crump said. "The door's always open to any athletic director's office in the state of Indiana or beyond. It's a unique fraternity of people, and rely on their experiences because it's what we all do."

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Cowan athletic director AD Suzanne Crump retires for good Muncie Central