A native of Bradenton, Florida, Stanley B. Cromartie was selected as the Interim Director of Athletics at his alma mater in 2014 after being the Associate Athletic Director since 2010. Since his return to Edward Waters, Cromartie has been instrumental in re-energizing student-athletes, staff, administrators, alumni, and the entire student body in showing their “Tiger Pride”. Among several projects that he has implemented, the now annual “Alumni Weekend”, held during the spring semester, has become a signature fundraising event during the school year.
Cromartie’s business acumen also resulted in two of the biggest payouts in school history following contests with Alcorn State in 2013 and Tennessee State in 2014 ($65,000 for ASU & $75,000 for TSU). His goal remains to make the Edward Waters College Athletic Department the finest in the country.
Cromartie began his legendary basketball playing career at Manatee Community College (Now State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota) in 1982 under head coach Harry Kinnan. During his freshman campaign at MCC, Cromartie averaged 12 points and four assists per game while helping the Lancers post a then school record for wins in a season. As a sophomore in 1984, he was named to the All-Suncoast Conference team after averaging 17 points and four assists per game. In 2015, Cromartie was inducted to the State College of Florida Hall of Fame.
Following his junior college career, Cromartie then transferred to Webber International University in 1984 on a full men’s basketball scholarship. During the 1985-86 season, Cromartie led the Warriors to a 29-1 overall record en route the District 25 championship and a berth in the NAIA Men’s Basketball Tournament as the #2 ranked team in the country. Also during that season, Cromartie led the team in assists with 119, a then school record for assists in a season.
A 1990 graduate of Edward Waters College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, Cromartie became the youngest head coach in EWC history, taking the helm of the men’s basketball program at the age of 25.
Cromartie continued his basketball coaching career as a top assistant at Bethune-Cookman University and South Carolina State University. He has also held head coaching positions at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida and Seminole Community College in Sanford, Florida. Throughout his career, he has taken on increasing leadership roles in coaching, managing athletic programs, planning numerous tournaments, and recruitment activities. A strong believer in the student-athlete model, Cromartie encourages all athletes to exhibit solid academic progress and exemplary behavior in and out of uniform.
Cromartie returned to the coaching ranks in 2014, where he took over as the head coach of the EWC Women’s Softball program. He led the Lady Tigers to unprecedented success during the 2015 season, where EWC finished with a 34-13-1 record (a program record for wins in a single season) and clinched the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship. The Lady Tigers also finished with a 29-3 record vs. HBCU competition. For their success, EWC was nominated in the category of “Women’s Team of the Year” during the 2015 HBCU Awards.
Cromartie is a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated. He is also the loving husband of the former Doretta Clemons, and proud father of two, Kiara Mays-Cromartie and NFL Pro Bowl defensive back for the New York Giants, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
