- Florida A&M men’s basketball coach Patrick Crarey II is leaving FAMU for Grambling State.
- Crarey’s decision was influenced by a contract dispute with FAMU and a more attractive offer from Grambling State.
- Despite the challenges, Crarey led the Rattlers to their most wins since 2008 in his single season.
- FAMU offered Crarey a counteroffer, but it couldn’t match Grambling State’s proposal.
Patrick Crarey II is turning the page to a new chapter of his coaching career.
After spending one year as the head coach of the Florida A&M men’s basketball team, Crarey is heading to fellow Southwestern Athletic Conference school Grambling State in Louisiana.
Crarey, 41, replaces former Grambling men’s basketball coach Donte Jackson, who is now at Alabama A&M. Grambling State went 12-22 this past season but won its first-ever SWAC Tournament title in 2024 to reach the NCAA Tournament.
“I enjoyed my time here seeing the program grow so fast in such a short amount of time,” Crarey told the Tallahassee Democrat in a one-on-one interview on Tuesday.
“Very tough decision to leave. Strictly a business decision. My heart wanted me to stay, but God and business told me I had to go.”
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Crarey was hired away from NAIA school St. Thomas University to become the Rattlers’ 15th men’s basketball coach on April 17, 2024, by former FAMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes and former university President Dr. Larry Robinson. FAMU was the Washington D.C. native’s first NCAA and Division I coaching job.
After an administration shakeup last August, Crarey worked with FAMU interim president Dr. Timothy Beard and first-year FAMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Angela Suggs.
“Very grateful for the Presidents I had while I was here; Tiffani and Angela have done so much for me since I’ve been here,” Crarey said.
At the time of his hire, Crarey’s original contract offer was a three-year deal worth $450,000, which is $150,000 annually. However, in June, FAMU’s Board of Trustees tabled the multiyear contract discussions and recommended a one-year deal worth $150,000, which Crarey signed in August.
The two-month-long contract dispute between FAMU’s Board of Trustees and the athletic department stuck with Crarey while deciding if he would stay with the Rattlers or accept the Grambling State job.
“That point in time and the distractions around the contract affected me personally and professionally,” Crarey explained. “That weighed heavy on the decision. I knew Angela and the alums wanted me. I didn’t know if everybody wanted me.
“And Grambling made that clear. So, that pushed it over the edge.”
FAMU attempted to keep Crarey as its men’s basketball coach.
Amidst this past season, which saw the Rattlers reach as high as second out of twelve teams in the SWAC standings, FAMU repackaged a contract extension for Crarey. In February, FAMU offered Crarey a two-year extension worth $330,000, which the coach later agreed to and signed.
Crarey also added that FAMU presented a counteroffer before he left for Grambling State.
“FAMU did come back and offer me on the last day before I went to Grambling. But they couldn’t match what Grambling had to offer,” Crarey said. “There were a lot of different things inside the [Grambling] deal. The FAMU offer was given to me in the midnight hour of decision making time. If I got that offer earlier, I wouldn’t have left.”
Crarey commended the Grambling State brass’ unity and attentiveness in his hire. It was a complete 180 from what Crarey experienced when he came to FAMU.
“The synergy between the administration and the athletic department. They’re just trying to get stuff done,” Crarey said. “They were just so aggressive, focused, and never wavered in their pursuit of me.”
FAMU men’s basketball accomplished a lot in lone year under Patrick Crarey II
Despite the “rollercoaster of emotions” from Crarey’s contract dispute, the wide-eyed first-time Division I coach put his head down and worked to put FAMU basketball back on the map.
Crarey tirelessly recruited needle-moving players like Sterling Young and Milton Matthews to play for FAMU.
Young was named the SWAC’s Player of the Year, while Matthews garnered SWAC Newcomer of the Year honors. Both, among others, have entered the transfer portal since the season’s end.
In Crarey’s lone season at FAMU, the Rattlers finished 14-17, their most wins since 2008, and reached the SWAC Tournament for the first time since 2021-2022. The Rattlers won a SWAC Tournament game for the first time by beating the Prairie View A&M Panthers 75-66 on March 11.
Crarey was a Joe B. Hall Award finalist, recognizing the top first-year Division I head coach.
“We started slow in conference, then got super hot, then kind of trailed off,” Crarey reflected on his lone season at FAMU. “Then we went back to the postseason. It was up and down. It was an eye-opening experience for me.”
Patrick Crarey II will likely see FAMU in 2026 as Grambling State’s head coach
Crarey knows the potential of FAMU’s basketball program after helping it reach new heights in less than a calendar year there.
It’s a coveted job to lead the Rattlers.
“It’s a fabulous school, great brand, great name, and elite alumni. Tallahassee’s a great city. This is a really good job,” Crarey said. “If alumni just support the guy that comes in after me, as long as it’s not when they play against us, they can do something here.”
With FAMU and Grambling State both being SWAC schools, Crarey knows he will see the Rattlers down the road.
The Rattlers and the Tigers typically play each other twice amidst the SWAC basketball’s 18-game schedule.
“You know I’ll be very excited to come back here and play. It’ll be circled on the calendar. As it will be for whoever replaces me,” Crarey said.
“It won’t be just another game. It will be tough to go through. But it’s business. You got to get the business done.”
‘Tough to leave’: Former FAMU men’s basketball coach Patrick Crarey II says goodbye
Crarey is thankful for the support he got while he earned his chops on the Division I level at FAMU.
“I think many people supported me a lot more because of some of the things they saw me go through,” Crarey said. “So, just appreciative to everybody for the support they gave us during the ups and downs. I’m thankful for the time.”
Grambling State introduced Crarey as its new men’s basketball head coach on Friday, April 11.
“It’s very tough to leave, very emotional and difficult time,” Crarey said.
“Even though it was a happy time, I was mixed with emotions throughout the whole process and still am. Just thank you for everything.”
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at [email protected] or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
