Hall of Fame
A four-year starter at quarterback for the Tigers, Dan Crowley '00 graduated with virtually every school passing record. He was inducted into the Towson Hall of Fame in 2010.
In his career, he completed 617 of 1,169 passes, setting records in both categories. He also set school records with 81 touchdown passes; 8,900 passing yards; and 8,803 yards of total offense.
A starter in 35 of 40 career games from 1991 to 1994, the Bowie, Maryland, native had a 22-13 record as a starter as he led the Tigers through a dramatic turnaround. During his freshman year, the Tigers were 1-10. They improved to 5-5 in his sophomore season. In his final two years, he guided the Tigers to consecutive 8-2 records as the Tigers were nationally ranked at the NCAA Division I-AA level for the first time.
An all-state performer at DeMatha High School, Crowley became the Tigers' starting quarterback midway through his freshman season. He threw for 1,783 yards and 16 touchdowns and guided the Tigers to their only win of the year, a late-season victory over Howard.
During his sophomore year, he led the Tigers to a 5-5 record, a mark that included dramatic wins over Indiana (Pa.) and Northeastern. At IUP, Crowley directed a comeback that saw the Tigers overcome a 33-13 deficit with 5:34 remaining in the fourth quarter to pull out a 35-33 victory. The following week, he threw a dramatic 10-yard touchdown pass to Mark Orlando on the final play of the game as Towson edged Northeastern, 32-30. As a sophomore, Crowley passed for 2,322 yards and 14 touchdowns.
As a junior, Crowley passed for 1,882 yards and 23 touchdowns while throwing only four interceptions in 217 attempts. The Tigers, who finished the season as the 24th-ranked team in NCAA Division I-AA, nearly qualified for the I-AA playoffs after posting impressive wins over Connecticut and Delaware. Towson finished the season with an 8-2 record, and Crowley was named as the Tigers' Offensive Player of the Year.
Crowley enjoyed his finest season as a senior in 1994. One of the co-captains for Hall of Fame Coach Gordy Combs, he earned honorable mention All-America honors for the second time after passing for a school record 2,913 yards while throwing a record 28 touchdown passes. In a win over Charleston Southern, he set a school record by throwing five touchdown passes in one game.
The winner of the Doc Minnegan Award as the Tigers' Most Valuable Player as a senior, he was the seventh-rated passer in NCAA Division I-AA in 1994. He was also named as Towson's Male Athlete of the Year award winner.
Signed as a free agent by the Baltimore Stallions of the Canadian Football League, he was a member of the first American team to win the Grey Cup in 1995. Crowley enjoyed a very productive eight-year career in the CFL while playing for four different teams, including the Stallions, the Montreal Alouettes, the Edmonton Eskimos and the Ottawa Rough Riders.
Crowley also played for the Bergamo Lions in the Italian Football Federation for two years, leading the Lions to back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999. He was the championship game Most Valuable Player twice.
