FAMU BOT recommends one-year deal, questions coach credentials

The FAMU Board of Trustees isn’t quite ready to give its men’s basketball coach a multi-year contract.

The Florida A&M BOT declined to vote on the three-year contract that Patrick Crarey signed in mid-April on Tuesday, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

Trustee Kelvin Lawson recommended a one-year deal, expressing his doubts about Crarey’s fit for the job and how he was selected among the 51-person pool listed by a blog site as having applied for the job.

“Everyone knows it takes time in a program to rebuild. I get that. I want to be careful what I say because I’m not trying to be disparaging, but out of 50 candidates, this person probably wouldn’t have finished in the top five in most races,” Lawson said .

Crarey comes to FAMU from the NAIA level. He most recently had a notable stint at St. Thomas University, where he led the team to a 61-27 record over three seasons, including two consecutive NAIA Tournament appearances and three straight winning seasons. Despite the fact that Florida A&M University men’ basketball has recorded 17-consecutive losing seasons — the longest current streak in Division I basketball — FAMU Board of Trustees Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons echo’d the doubt as to whether Crarey was the best candidate for the job.

“But it bothers me when I see some names on there, many which I don’t even know, but I look at their background and experience and wonder how we got to this individual [Crarey] that’s two [divisions] beneath where we are playing in the SWAC. I lean towards the person having a one-year agreement and give them a contract based on how they do this year and revisit it later.”

A five-person search committee aided Florida A&M University VP of Intercollegiate Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes in the hiring process, which resulted in Crarey signing a three-year, $450,000 contract.

“We have procedures in place,” said FAMU trustee Otis Cliatt II. “The AD followed those procedures. She included DSOs, Booster Club folks, and so on. They, too, had an opportunity to look at this list. This is the person they came up with.”

Under the Florida A&M University BOT motion, Sykes would be able to extend a multi-year contract to Crarey after one season and choose to add incentives at her discretion.

Sykes pushed back on the one-year option.

“I wholeheartedly believe that this is the person to lead our program forward at this time. I know he can do the job,” Sykes said. “I think it best aligns with our strategic priorities and goals when we speak about recruiting and retaining talent to offer a multiyear contract.”

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