A former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He graduated with a B.A. in history from Dartmouth College in 1960. He was the first football player to sign with the Dallas Cowboys but was traded to the Boston Patriots in 1960. He was head football coach at Dartmouth from 1971 to 1977 and became athletic director at Syracuse University in 1978. Crouthamel played a key role in the formation of the Big East Conference in 1979 and served on the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee. He received the John L. Toner Award in 1999. In 2000, Jake Crouthamel was named the NACDA Division IA Northeast Region Athletics Director of the Year and received the Chancellor's Citation for Excellence in 2002. While Crouthamel was athletic director at Syracuse, his teams won ten national championships. He retired from Syracuse University on June 30, 2005. In January, 2009 Crothamel was an honoree at the biennial Ivy League Football Players Association dinner which recognises a former player from each of the eight Ivy schools who has become a leader in his chosen field.