January 2018

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 26, 2018—Santa Clara University announced today that Michael Crowley has been named vice president for finance and administration.

Crowley is the former president of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. He served as president of the A’s from September 1998 until November 2016, which is the longest tenure held for the position in Oakland Athletics’ history. He is currently a senior advisor for the Oakland Athletics.

As vice president for finance and administration, Crowley will be a principal member of the University’s executive team, reporting to University President Michael E. Engh, S.J., and providing leadership for the administration and finance units. He will also play a key role in the University’s upcoming comprehensive campaign and construction projects, such as the Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation.

Crowley will take oversight of the University’s $925 million endowment, an annual operating budget of $470 million, and an administrative and finance team of 175.

He begins his new role on February 16.

Crowley has been engaged with SCU as a member of the President's Intercollegiate Athletics Commission and the former Institute of Sports Law and Ethics. His wife Kathy is a 1985 SCU graduate with a degree in electrical engineering.

“Michael brings an impressive portfolio of executive leadership, business strategy, and operations to Santa Clara,” said Engh. "We warmly welcome him to the University community and look forward to his leadership in strengthening our financial position in the higher education landscape and supporting our efforts in the comprehensive campaign.”

In addition, Engh said Crowley has applied his acumen in financial and administrative management to the benefit of local charities by serving as chairman of the Oakland Athletics Community Fund.

“I am honored and thrilled to be given this opportunity to be a part of the community and the Jesuit mission at Santa Clara University,” said Crowley. "I look forward to furthering Santa Clara's contributions to Silicon Valley as it embarks on a transformational campaign to grow the campus and its position in national higher education."

Crowley directed the acquisition and operations of soccer for the Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise relaunch in the San Jose market. He served as the team’s president from the re-launch in 2007 to October 2010 and then spent seven seasons with the Earthquakes as the managing director and is currently a member of the San Jose Earthquakes Board of Directors. The club expanded significantly on the business side under Crowley, including the construction of the state-of-the-art, soccer-only facility Avaya Stadium in the Bay Area. Crowley fostered a deeper connection with SCU by initially bringing the Earthquakes to Buck Shaw Stadium for its first seven seasons (2008 - 2014) prior to the opening of Avaya Stadium in March 2015.

In 1999, Crowley and his wife Kathy ignited a movement as one of the first major league sports franchises to use its platform to raise money and bring attention to a women’s cause. Since 1999, the A’s annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day has raised almost $1.7 million for breast cancer research and education.

Crowley has a BBA in accounting from University of Notre Dame, and an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact
Deepa Arora | SCU Communications Director | darora@scu.edu | 408-554-5125