Andy Crane was appointed as the first head coach of the Eastern women’s flag football program in the summer of 2025 in anticipation of the inaugural season in the spring of 2027.
“I’m so excited to welcome Andy Crane to the Warrior family”, Runksmeier said at the time of Crane's appointment. “Adding flag football is going to complement our sport offerings and I know Andy is going to help us hit the ground running. He has already proven to be passionate about the game of football and a top recruiter of talent, and I’m confident he will make our new program prominent quickly.”
Crane’s professional football experience started just four days after his 18th birthday when he attended a tryout for the New Jersey Gladiators Arena Football team earning an invite to training camp and appearing in 3 regular season games. His Arena career would continue with the Albany Conquest for 2 seasons before transitioning to the outdoor game in 2005.
Andy would go on to play a season for the UFL’s New York Enforcers, the EFL’s Wetchester Steelers, Hudson Valley Cowboys and Rock City Bruins as well as spending time in the NFL both on the field and in the front office with the New York Jets.
Primarily a defensive player at Linebacker and Defensive End it was Coach Ken Eseck of the Steelers who first moved Crane over to the offensive side of the ball to play Quarterback because “He knew the offense better than the offensive players.” It was under center that Andy experienced his best career highlights that included winning the 2008 Metro Bowl Championship that also saw an overtime playoff win against his former team, HV Cowboys, passing for 298 yards, three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. He also set the franchise single game passing record for the Rock City Bruins, throwing for 509 yards and six touchdowns in a game vs. the Tri Valley Alley Cats in only three quarters.
Crane would retire from playing in 2012 to pursue a career as a teaching professional in the game of golf but the call of football and coaching returned when the ground swell of a new college sport, Women’s Flag Football started gain momentum. He would push to start the Woman’s Flag Football program at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York and be a strong voice to get the sport going in the Skyline Conference.
Andy has become a big part of NFL Flag programs across the country coaching events, showcases and teams for teams such as the Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panters, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and New England Patriots. He is a USA Football certified coach and a regular voice on the ECAC coaches committee.
