Crawford enters his sixth season as the head coach of the men's soccer team at Georgia Southwestern in 2024. Under Crawford’s leadership the Hurricanes have had eight selections to the Peach Belt Conference All-Conference Team. The Hurricanes have competed in the PBC post season every year after earning their first trip the PBC Tournament in 2021 and would have qualified in 2020 had the pandemic not impacted the season. Crawford now holds the program record for most conference and overall wins in a season.
Crawford enters his 4th year as part of the Department of Athletics Leadership Executive Team. As the Associate Director of Athletics for Business and Operations, Crawford is responsible for budget oversight and planning for all 10 of GSW’s intercollegiate sports. He has also been vital in GSW’s capital facility enhancements planning, designing and project managing facility upgrades in the Storm Dome, Soccer Facility, Athletic Weight Room, Film Rooms, Locker Rooms, the GSW Recruiting Room, and the Hospitality Suite.
Crawford spent three seasons as the assistant coach at Northeastern State University prior to being named the head coach at GSW. He helped lead the Riverhawks’ to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a Central Region Championship with a loss in the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16. During the final two seasons the Riverhawks were consistently ranked in the Top 25. He helped mentor three All-Americans and four All-Region players during his time in Tahlequah.
Crawford played in 70 career matches and made 68 starts for NSU. He also captained a back line unit that recorded the three best defensive seasons in school history. He helped lead the RiverHawks to two appearances in the NCAA Championship, including one trip to the quarterfinals, and he also led the team to two MIAA Championships and three runner-up finishes during his career. He was NSU’s first finalist for the MIAA Ken B. Jones Award, given to the top male student-athlete in the MIAA. He finished his career as a D2 All-American in 2012 and 2015.
He also had a distinguished amateur career with the Toronto Lynx of the PDL and the Oakville Blue Devils of League 1 Ontario. Crawford was named an All-Star in 2016, and won the League 1 championship, and the inter-provincial cup in 2015.
His career academic accomplishments included being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 First Team in both 2013 and 2015, and he was also selected to the 2015 NSCAA Men's Division I and Division II Scholar All-America Second Team. He was a four-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and a two-time MIAA Scholar-Athlete. He was named to NSU's Dean's List 10 times and was once selected to the President's Honor Roll. Crawford holds a B.SC in Biology, an M.Sc. in Exercise Science, and an MBA from Northeastern State University. He is currently in the process of completing his Ed. D in Higher Education Administration at the University of West Georgia. Eric and his wife Danielle live in Americus with their three dogs Millie, Lincoln, and Oscar
