The Patriot League announced the hiring of Ashleigh Crutcher as the League’s Administrative Intern in August 2021. Crutcher joins the League office after spending four years as a teacher with Wake County (N.C.) Public Schools. She was a four-year letterwinner on the University of Maryland women’s volleyball team.
In her role at the League office, Crutcher will serve as the primary contact for women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, women’s rowing and softball. She will also assist with coordinating League championships and administering special projects within the League office.
At Maryland, Crutcher was a two-time All-ACC selection (2012-13) and honorable mention AVCA All-American (2012) during her volleyball career. She was also a three-time All-ACC Academic Team member and 2014 All-B1G Academic Team honoree. Crutcher finished with 1,342 kills to rank fifth in Terrapins’ program history. As a graduate student, she served as team captain on UNC Wilmington’s inaugural NCAA beach volleyball team during the 2015-16 academic year.
Following her collegiate career, Crutcher served as an educator and coach. She spent four years as a health and physical education teacher with Wake County Public Schools, beginning in March 2017, and was responsible for planning and developing lesson plans aligned with the physical education standards in North Carolina. She was also responsible for educating students on aspects of health associated with interpersonal communication and relationships, mental and emotional health, and personal and consumer health.
Crutcher has also worked for five seasons as an assistant coach with Triangle Volleyball Club in Morrisville, N.C. In her role with the club, she conducted practice drills, taught tactics and skills needed to play at an elite level, assisted athletes with conditioning while helping foster a supportive environment. Most recently, Crutcher served as a Summer Camp Program Administrative Intern with the club where she assisted in the day-to-day operations of the summer camp programs and clinic. She also oversaw the Youth Volleyball Program and was the onsite contact for parents and campers.
She began her career in education, first as a graduate assistant and then as a teaching assistant at UNC Wilmington. Crutcher facilitated physical activities and educational skills for children with disabilities. She also mentored college students in principles of strength and conditioning, in addition to goal-setting and planning of weight and resistance training.
A Raleigh, N.C. native, Crutcher graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology in 2015. She received her Master of Art in teaching, physical education and health from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2016, before earning her Master of Science in sports management from Western Carolina in 2021.