The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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62 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2022 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? the Legacy Center Sports Complex in Brighton, Mich., and working on the event staff with the Detroit Tigers. Crummey spent a year and a half with Wayne State University as an athletic development coordinator, where she helped prepare and carry out special events and alumni functions, managed corporate sponsorships, hosted donor hospitality areas and more. She is now part of U-M's game pre- sentation and fan experience team as an associate director and has been back working in Ann Arbor for five and a half years. Her team is responsible for build- ing out the game-day atmosphere and experiences for those attending. The group of five tackle football together, but Crummey herself is responsible for field hockey, volleyball, wrestling, men's basketball and softball. "Throughout the year, I get to work with a variety of sports and different coaching staffs, and I get to showcase who these programs are," she said. "Ev- ery program has a different vibe, which makes working in the collegiate land- scape so fun. In my role, I am building out the season promotion plans, creat- ing theme nights, building video-board content, shooting interactive pieces, giveaways, the music, you name it. "We're there to entertain our fan bases and have them leave our venues wanting to come back. It's an incredibly rewarding role knowing the impact we have on how our student-athletes, fu- ture recruits, and fans experience Mich- igan. It's a great responsibility to have." Crummey is the eyes and ears on the ground during a football game day. She runs the field, which means there are plenty of things to juggle throughout the contest, whether it be the team coming out on time, coordinating the anthem, making sure guests are in the right spots and generally making sure people are where they need to be. From a personal and professional standpoint, she will never forget the entire game day experience of the foot- ball team's 42-27 win over Ohio State on Nov. 27, 2021. The mixture of atmo- sphere and result delivered an iconic moment in Michigan athletics history. "We could not have scripted things better," she said. "The energy is already heightened. Our team is having an awe- some season. It's Ohio State, it's snow- ing a bit. People are amped and ready to see what is about to happen on the field. That's something we used to our advantage when scripting out the game. We were able to amplify what was al- ready there. "It truly seemed like every single thing hit at the perfect moment. The music, the video board prompts, the on-field DJ amping up the crowd. The true inception of 'Pump It Up.' Every- thing was perfect on top of our team delivering the win. "And then the rushing off the field. I got crushed down there. But it was worth it." U-M provided a template for Crum- mey to push harder and reach higher in every aspect of what she does. That has helped immensely in the working world, and now she gets to put it all back into the university that molded her. "It's that standard of excellence, the high expectations that you have towards the work that you're doing," Crummey said. "It was the biggest wake-up call when I graduated and stepped into the professional world. The pace was so dif- ferent. As a student-athlete, there's this sense of urgency to move quickly, do it right, do it intensely. "I got into the workplace and realized not everyone functions like this. 'Why is everyone moving so slow? Why are we OK with this being mediocre?' "There was just this heightened de- sire to do things at the next level. And I think that's what I left Michigan with the most." ❏ The Jaclyn Crummey File Michigan Accomplishments: Michigan softball captain (2013) … Played in 164 career games for the Wolverines … Hit .375 in 53 games played (21 starts, 64 at-bats) in 2013, NSCA All-American (2012). Professional Accomplishments: Currently the associate director, game pre- sentation and fan experience at the University of Michigan … Former athletic development coordinator at Wayne State University … Event staff with the Detroit Tigers… Internships with USA Field Hockey and U-M. Michigan Memory: "There's so many, but I'd go with the Super Regional win during my senior year," Crummey said. "We beat Louisiana-Lafayette in front of our home crowd to send us to the Women's College World Series. "We had the dog pile on the mound. We were heading to Oklahoma City, something we couldn't have imagined. It's what we work for all year, and all of a sudden, we had punched our ticket." Favorite Spot In Ann Arbor: "If you asked me as a student I probably would have said South University," Crummey noted. "Anything over there like The Brown Jug, Charley's, any of those staples. Now that I'm older, you realize Ann Arbor is so much bigger than you thought it was. "I now enjoy the restaurant scene on Main Street and finding the hole-in-the- wall spots. Some of the newer favorites are Kanbu Sushi, Tomuken and Frita Batidos." Education: Graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2013 and earned her master's degree in sports administration from Wayne State University in 2019. Family: Alan (father), Mary (mother) and Kathryn (sister) Crummey. As U-M's associate director for game pre- sentation and fan experience, Crummey helps set the atmosphere for some of the school's biggest moments. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY