CARROLL McCRAY
PROFILE
PERSONAL
Born: February 4, 1961
Birthplace: Monroe, NC
Wife: former Angela Allen
Children: son Trey and daughter Meredith
College: Gardner-Webb, 1983
PLAYING CAREER:
Played four seasons (1979-82) for Gardner-Webb
COACHING CAREER:
1984-88: Graduate Assistant, Appalachian State University;
1989-93: Offensive Line Coach, University of South Carolina;
1994-00: Offensive Line Coach, Samford University;
2001-02: Centers/Offensive Guards Coach, Mississippi State University
2003- : Head coach, Austin Peay State University
QUOTING CARROLL McCRAY ABOUT THE AUSTIN PEAY HEAD COACHING POSITION:
"We are excited about the opportunity. I think the No. 1 thing is build on what was started last year.
The opportunity to be around people like Dave (Loos) and the others I have met is a great advantage
to me. I think you work a long time to put yourself in position to have this opportunity. So we are going
to work extremely hard to make this successful and, hopefully, make the young people feel important
plus give them the opportunity to continue the success they have had."
What drew you to this job?:
"There's no question...the people first. The location of where it is and what the school stands for; the
opportunity to come back into a liberal arts environment where there is a great diversity within the
school; to see the direction of the school by the President and by Coach Loos for the entire athletic
department. I think there is a lot of excitement in all the athletic areas, men and women....It's as good
a draw as you can get--the proof is in the pudding of what is getting done. Rightfully so there should
be excitement about the direction of the athletic department."
What are your initial priorities?
"No question is to address the football team--make sure they are going to class and make sure they
are getting into the weight room. Those are the top two priorities. After that is getting out to the area
high schools and begin establishing relationships with those coaches. We have a short window of
recruiting, so that is a priority as well. When we get back in 10 days, we want to sit down with the
players individually in a private environment so they can learn about me and me about them."
What about your staff?
"We are going to work on that. Right now it is going to be a two-man staff. I met with Steve (Haywood)
this morning?and I am really excited about him and looking forward to getting to know him even
better?and we are going to work as hard as we can recruiting the next 10 days. We have been on the
phone with some people. The main thing is we have to find the right people for this program and, two,
we need to take as long as it needs to take. It's obvious it is going to take longer than 10 days. We
need to recruit first and make sure the young men are taken care of first, making sure they are kept
here and understand us. Then we will start our search (for assistants)."

---