State College Area School District is turning to a familiar face to be its next athletic director.
The school board on Monday approved Loren Crispell, who has been assistant athletic director since 2017, to succeed the retiring Chris Weakland in leading the district’s athletic department.
Weakland is retiring in June after eight years as athletic director and 35 years with the school district. The State High alum was an English teacher, dean of students, assistant principal, and coach before becoming athletic director.
A 1996 State High graduate, Crispell brings 23 years of experience as an athletics administrator to the position. Prior to joining SCASD, the Penn State alumnus spent 15 years working in marketing for the university’s athletic department.
“I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve the students, coaches and families within the State College Area School District,” Crispell said in a statement. “It is an honor to follow in what is a long line of strong leaders in this position, and appreciate the rich tradition of success and excellence that they have created over so many generations. We have exceptional students and coaches within our district, and the chance to unite tremendous resources with dynamic leaders is one that I embrace. I look forward to working to create opportunities for long-term success for our students each and every day.”
As assistant athletic director, Crispell has co-managed 77 teams in 32 sports, 1,806 student-athletes in grades 7-12 and 133 coaches. His wide-ranging responsibilities have included scheduling, hiring coaches and event staff, transportation, organizing coach and parent meetings, working with booster clubs, coordinating athlete registrations, generating sponsorship revenue, developing the department’s social media and coordinating college announcement nights for athletes.
“Loren has done an outstanding job as the assistant athletic director since 2017, and his stellar record makes him an ideal person to lead our athletic community and continue building the district’s support for athletics,” SCASD Superintendent Curtis Johnson said.
Crispell has advised State High clubs and activities and co-managed the district’s elementary and secondary intramural programs. He helped start the ninth grade girls’ basketball, junior varsity/varsity girls’ wrestling and unified bocce programs, as well as the student volunteer leadership team PULSE (Pride, Unity, Leadership, Service, Excellence), which has supported charity events such as Toys for Tots and the Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walk.
“Having been a dedicated life-long member of our community, Loren brings a deep understanding of our school’s values and mission,” Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Jonathan Bucher said in a statement. “He is not only familiar with the culture and needs of our schools but also genuinely passionate about fostering the growth and success of the next generation of student-athletes. We are confident that his commitment, experience and longstanding connection to our community will further strengthen our team.”
Crispell will transition to the new role this spring.
His salary as athletic director will be $128,000 per year, according to the human resources recommendations unanimously approved by the school board on Monday.
