On Feb. 17, the school board approved Loren Crispell as the next athletic director for the State College Area School District. Crispell, a 1996 State High graduate, replaces Chris Weakland, who will retire in June after 35 years of service to the district.
Crispell began his career by working in marketing for the Penn State Athletic Department for 17 years before becoming the SCASD Assistant Athletic Director in 2017. As the assistant athletic director, Crispell oversaw the creation of the ninth grade girls basketball, unified bocce and junior varsity/varsity girls wrestling programs.
Crispell matured as a person and a professional throughout his first eight years in the athletic department.
“The first part for me was just entering into such a new arena, and being surrounded by people from whom I could learn so much, whether it’s Mr. Weakland, whether it’s the rest of our principals, teachers, teachers who are also coaches, working with people who have devoted decades of their lives to education was a very enlightening experience, because it was a different world,” Crispell said. “It was a different arena, and there was quite a bit I needed to learn, and frankly, still need to learn about how to really deliver positive impact to students.”
Throughout his tenure as the assistant athletic director, Crispell forged connections with countless students, many of whom reached out with congratulatory messages when the news of his promotion broke. Junior Dylan Briggs works closely with Crispell in his role as Co-Commissioner of the Intramural Basketball Association.
“I think the biggest way that Mr. Crispell has helped me just by giving me the opportunity in the first place to be the commissioner of IMBA, because he was actually the one who approached me before I approached him, he was the one who was trying to get me more involved,” Briggs said. “Him approaching me to come and get involved in IMBA and giving me the opportunity was just really beneficial to my high school path.”
Briggs noted Crispell’s personality and approachable nature, which help him considerably in connecting with students.
“Not only has he shown time and time again that he cares about [Co-Comissioner of IMBA] Jack [Snyder] and I outside of IMBA, he cares about us like making sure we’re doing good in classes, and making sure everything’s going well, but also whenever we see him we just talk, we talk about sports, we get along with him. Overall, I would just say he’s a very easy guy to get along with and a super nice guy.”
When he takes over as the athletic director later this year, Crispell’s focus will remain on empowering and assisting students.
“The North Star is always to serve students and student athletes and being a part of delivering a great experience for them, delivering success for them, whether that’s winning basketball games, winning swim meets, going on at the collegiate level or if it’s fulfillment for them, if it’s not about wins and losses and not about continuing at the collegiate level, just making sure that they have a an exceptional experience during their time here at State High,” Crispell said. “I want this experience for them to not have a lifespan of four years. I want them to be able to take things they’ve learned, to take relationships, to take qualities they’ve developed into college, and maybe even beyond, so that this is truly an experience that impacts their lifetime.”
One of Crispell’s primary initiatives is improving all aspects of communication from the athletic department, and specifically direct communication from himself to families of student athletes. He also intends to grow his relationship with coaches in the district and understand the needs of their programs to best support student-athletes.
State High Football Head Coach Matt Lintal has already given Crispell his vote of confidence.
“Loren Crispell is one of the finest people that I have ever met,” Lintal said. “I think our athletic programs are in great hands, and I’m excited to work with him more directly now as he is the head athletic director. He’s a guy that is kid-first, so he’s always going to be student-centered, and I love that about him. He creates a work environment that I want to be a part of, that is just about caring for people, and that’s the first and foremost goal.”
Lintal has a decades-long relationship with Weakland, who also expressed his confidence in Crispell.
“We talk a lot about communication and relationships as a foundation, and he is superb at both,” Weakland said. “He’s a great communicator, and he’s phenomenal at building relationships, not only with the kids, but with the faculty, staff, families, community members, he’s phenomenal. If you start with that foundation of communication and relationships and build from there, you’re gonna be okay, so he’s gonna be great.”
