Mesa pulls the trigger and hires a real winner

Jeff Moses

After one lackluster season, Mesa Community College has decided to replace head football coach Denver Latimore with former Dixie State College coach Greg Croshaw.Croshaw comes to the Thunderbirds after 24 years at Dixie where he had an exemplary career from a purely football stand point.

He won 214 games, received nine coach of the year honors, won 17 conference championships, and never recorded a losing season.

Mesa Athletic Director Jon Mulhern called Croshaw “A fantastic hire. His career numbers speak for themselves.”

T-Bird football players cheering on their fellow Thunderbirds at a March 1 softball game seemed very excited about their new leader.

Troy Temple said of his new coach, “he’s (going to) do some good things.”

That sentiment is understandable from an on-field perspective, but Croshaw doesn’t come without a hitch.

In February 2006 espn.com reported that Croshaw was fired from Dixie State because of issues pertaining to his team’s average GPA.

They reported that with a team GPA of 1.96, Dixie State could not retain their successful head coach as they made the jump from the National Junior College Athletic Association to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 2, and their more stringent academic eligibility requirements.

Thunderbird cornerback Tyrell Pearson did not seem as enthusiastic about his new coach as his cohorts saying he is “kinda worried about it” in reference to Croshaws academic record as a head coach.

In a prepared statement Mulhern stated, “We have established standards for out athletic programs and our coaches. For the athletic programs, team G.P.A., individual G.P.A, graduation rates and student- athlete retention will be monitored and evaluated.

“I feel confident that Coach Croshaw will perform and exceed all of the standards established. Also, our student success coordinator in the athletic office will support football and all our athletic programs with grade checks, tutorial scheduling and study hall monitoring. We are looking forward to a successful 2011-2012 academic and athletic year.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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