The University of Minnesota Duluth and women's hockey head coach Maura Crowell have agreed to a four-year contract extension that will keep her behind the Bulldog bench through the 2025-26 season.

"I would like to thank UMD Athletic Director Josh Berlo and UMD Chancellor Lendley Black for their continued confidence in my leadership of this elite hockey program," said Crowell.  "Everyone in our program is proud to call themselves Bulldogs and represent UMD both in the WCHA and NCAA. It is an honor to develop our young women into strong students, athletes, and community members through the game of hockey. I am eager to build on our successful Frozen Four run this past season and bring more trophies to AMSOIL Arena."

"We could not be more pleased to have Maura Crowell continue to lead our storied Bulldog women's hockey program," said UMD Athletic Director Josh Berlo. "This extension furthers the incredible leadership and mentorship for Bulldog women's hockey by Coach Crowell and her staff. UMD women's hockey has reestablished itself as one of the top programs in the country as evidenced with this year's trip to the NCAA Frozen Four. She is a great leader, motivator, and mentor to the exceptional young women in our program. Off the ice, her team has excelled academically in the classroom."

Crowell's Bulldogs made their first NCAA Frozen Four appearance since the 2010 season after defeating Colgate 1-0 in overtime on March 15, 2021, in Erie, Penn., UMD's first NCAA Quarterfinal win in a decade. UMD finished the COVID-19 challenged season 12-7-0 with a .688 winning percentage, its highest since the 2016-17 NCAA tournament season and second-highest of Crowell's tenure. It also marks the third highest of the last decade. UMD finished second in the WCHA in 2020-21, just a point behind eventual winner Wisconsin on the last day of the regular season.  After guiding UMD to one of its most successful seasons in a decade, Crowell was named a CCM/AHCA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year Finalist in 2021.

In six seasons at UMD, Crowell has an overall record of 100-79-20, including a WCHA postseason record of 10-8 and two NCAA Tournament berths (2021, 2017). Crowell has overseen a Patty Kazmaier Top-3 Finalist (Lara Stalder), as well as 58 WCHA Scholar Athletes and a total of 84 WCHA All-Academic Team members.  For her efforts during the 2016-17 season, Crowell was named the USCHO Division I Women's Coach of the Year, as well as the the CCM/AHCA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year Award for 2017. Crowell was also crowned the 2016-17 WCHA Coach of the Year after she guided UMD to its biggest turnaround in program history with a 25-7-5 overall record and the Bulldogs first NCAA Quarterfinal game at home since 2010.

On Crowell's watch, UMD has had five All-Americans, including Ashton Bell, Anna Klein and Emma Soderberg in 2020-21 and two All-Americans in the 2016-17 season (Stalder and Sidney Morin), as well as run on league awards.  Bell was named the 2020-21 WCHA Defenseman of the Year, while Soderberg was selected the 2020-21 WCHA Goaltender of the Year.  Crowell's program also landed WCHA Student Athlete of the Year for Catherine Daoust in 2017-18, and 2016-17 WCHA Player of the Year for Stalder, Defensive Player of the Year for Morin, as well as WCHA Student Athlete of the Year.  UMD has also had 17 players placed on All-WCHA Teams, and tacked on a program-record 15 WCHA Scholar Athletes in 2020-21, as well as a program-high 18 WCHA All-Academic Team members in 2019-20.  

The Bulldogs earned 19 WCHA wins in 2016-17, the program's highest since the 2010-11 season, and finished third in the ultra-competitive WCHA (and just three points out of second place). Crowell also helped UMD back into the national rankings, and the Bulldogs reached as high as second in both the USCHO.com and USA TODAY/ USA Hockey Magazine national polls for six weeks before resting in fifth in both final season polls. 

Crowell has also been pivotal in program fundraising with the creation of the Women's Hockey Locker Project which benefits the UMD Women's Hockey program.  The Locker Project has led to locker room enhancements, new performance equipment, and other additional team needs.  Over her tenure, Crowell also saw the creation first-ever scholarship for women's hockey--the Fontaine Family Women's Hockey Scholarship--which supports full-time undergraduate students who are participating as student-athletes in the program. Additionally, Crowell managed a complete renovation of the player lounge in 2019.

Crowell has also guided two U.S. Under-18 national teams to World Championship medals, and most recently led her U.S. U-18 squad to a gold medal Jan. 2, 2020 at the 2020 IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship in Slovakia.  Crowell's U-18 squad earned a silver medal in 2019 at the IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship in Japan. Prior to serving as head coach, she helped the U.S. win a gold medal as an associate head coach in 2018 at the IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship in Russia and again as an assistant coach in 2016 at the IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship in Canada.
 

  CLASSROOM

• 58 WCHA Scholar Student-Athletes 
• 84 WCHA All-Academic Student-Athletes
• Two WCHA Scholar Athletes of the Year 
• 2020-21 Team GPA  -- 3.71

COMPETITION

• NCAA Tournament berths in 2021 and 2017
• NCAA Frozen Four in 2021
• 100 Career Wins 
• Five All-Americans
• 18 All-Conference
• Six Conference Player of the Year Award Winners
• Four-time U.S. U-18 IIHF Women's World Championship medalist (three gold, one silver)

COMMUNITY

• College Hockey for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity member
• WCHA Coaching Chair (2019-21)
• Women's Hockey Commissioners Association WCHA coach representative
• D1 Women's Ice Hockey Head Coaches Advisory Group to NCAA Rules Committee participant
• NCAA Women's Hockey Expansion Working Group member 
• Operation One Voice, Essentia Health Foundation, Red Cross, Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank, Champ's Cupboard