Crew Coach Bill Sanford Retires, Heads to N.Y. State Assembly Post
5/1/2002 5:42:01 PM | Men's Rowing
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse University men's crew coach Bill Sanford is retiring at the end of the spring season. Sanford, who has been the head crew coach for 34 years, was elected to New York State Assembly for the 118th District in February. For the past three months he has been balancing his time between Albany and Syracuse, while continuing to coach the Orangemen.
"We appreciate Bill’s many years of dedicated service to the University and its student-athletes," said Jake Crouthamel, director of athletics. "The Sanford name has become synonymous with our crew and rowing program because of his involvement."
This season SU's varsity eight, under the direction of Sanford, is No. 19 in the country. The Orangemen are coming off two first-place and two third-place finishes at the Georgetown Invitational, a regatta of BIG EAST crew schools held on the Potomac in Washington, D.C. on April 28.
Sanford, 63, began steering the Syracuse rowing program on a true and steady course in 1968. He began his rowing career on Syracuse waters in 1960. He competed on the Orange freshman squad that year and rowed on the varsity crew for the next three. As a senior, he was elected varsity captain. Sanford received his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Syracuse in 1963 and took charge of the freshman crew that fall.
In 1968, he was promoted to varsity coach after his predecessor and mentor, Loren Schoel, retired. The following year, Sanford completed his master’s degree in psychology.
Sanford earned a reputation for building tough, hard-working squads, which row with a do-or-die attitude. A benchmark of his career occurred in 1978 when the SU varsity eight rowed to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championship and Varsity Challenge Cup. Other IRA victories during Sanford’s tenure came from the freshman eight in 1976, 1977 and 1978 and from the varsity four in 1981. Five Olympic rowers have developed under his watchful eye. In 1990, Sanford’s varsity crew was undefeated during regular season competition.
Sanford is not only a leader at the University; he is also a leader in the community. Before being elected to the State Assembly he was serving his 11th term in the Onondaga County Legislature representing the Town of Salina. He was elected chairman of the Legislature in January 1988 and served in that position until the February election. In addition, he serves as a member of the Syracuse/Onondaga County Drug Commission.
He is a co-founder and past president of the Syracuse Chargers, an amateur athletic rowing club, which has been a model for similar clubs throughout the country. Sanford is active in a number of charitable organizations. He was chairman of the 1985 New York State Special Olympics Summer Games and was named honorary chairman of the 1986 Special Olympics competition. In 1993 Sanford served as fundraising chairman for the Special Olympic Summer Games, which were held in Syracuse.
In 1990 Sanford was honored as a Syracuse University Letterwinner of Distinction, an award voted on by his peers in the varsity club. On June 6, 1998 at Alumni Reunion Weekend, Sanford became the sixth recipient of the Dean’s Outstanding Alumni Award in recognition of his loyalty and commitment to SU and to the local community.
Sanford is married to the former Nancy Hawley and they have three daughters, Shawn, Jennifer and Kristen. Jennifer is the head women’s rowing coach at the University of Connecticut and Kristen is the head coach of the Syracuse women’s team.
The University will conduct a national search to find Sanford's replacement.
