Submitted by Saint Martin’s University
Patrick Crumb ’85, president of AT&T Sports Networks, a subsidiary of AT&T, will deliver the 2018 Commencement address at Saint Martin’s University on Saturday, May 12, at Marcus Pavilion, located at 5300 Pacific Ave SE, on the University’s Lacey campus.
“We are pleased to welcome Patrick Crumb, class of ’85, as our Commencement speaker this year,” said Saint Martin’s University President Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D. “He brings his own perspective on the enduring value of the Saint Martin’s community and how that has influenced his successful career and life.”
As president of AT&T Sports Networks, Crumb is responsible for leading the AT&T Sports Networks group and its regional sports networks branded as AT&T SportsNet and (in the Northwest) ROOT SPORTS™. The four networks (based in Denver, Colorado; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Houston, Texas; and Bellevue) hold exclusive television rights to over two dozen professional and collegiate teams including the Houston Astros, Houston Rockets, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Utah Jazz and Vegas Golden Knights. Under Crumb’s guidance, the AT&T Sports Networks group has won over 50 Emmy awards for its sports productions. In 2017, two leading national media publications, The Sports Business Journal and Broadcasting & Cable Magazine, both named Crumb as one of the most influential executives in the sports television industry.
Crumb has held senior executive positions in four different Fortune 500 companies. Prior to AT&T, Crumb served as president of DIRECTV Sports Networks. Before DIRECTV, Crumb was executive vice president & general counsel of Liberty Sports Group, a subsidiary of Denver-based Liberty Media, and a senior vice president & general manager for Los Angeles-based Fox Sports Interactive, a division of News Corporation. His other prior executive positions include senior vice president of corporate & business development at Rival Networks and Rivals.com. Following Rivals, Crumb became the co-founder and president of Scout Media, Inc., from start-up through the successful sale of the company to 20th Century Fox/News Corporation in 2005.
Prior to his business career, Crumb was a practicing attorney for 11 years. He was a partner at two prominent Seattle law firms, Bogle & Gates and Corr Cronin. His areas of specialization included sports, entertainment and intellectual property. His clients included the NCAA, Seattle Mariners, Ticketmaster, Warner Bros., Capitol Records and Exxon.
Crumb is active in civic and charitable organizations. His current volunteer board of director positions include the University of Washington Foundation (Executive Committee) and the Seattle Sports Commission. His previous volunteer leadership positions include president of the University of Washington Alumni Association, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Washington Athletic Club and president of The 101 Club. He has also previously served on the Board of Trustees of Saint Martin’s University and the Board of Trustees of King County Guardian ad Litem & Court Appointed Special Advocates (GAL/CASA). He is a past recipient of the Robert W. Graham Award for Public Service for his volunteer legal representation of abused and neglected children involved in state DSHS dependency and termination hearings.
Crumb is a summa cum laude 1985 graduate of Saint Martin’s University, where he was a Merit, Cheney and Chavelle Scholar, an inductee into the University’s Society of Fellows and class valedictorian. Crumb was the Lakeview Scholar at Georgetown University’s Institute on Comparative Political & Economic Systems (ICPES). While in Washington D.C., he also studied U.S. foreign policy at American University and worked in the U.S. Senate. Crumb obtained his juris doctor (J.D.) degree at the University of Washington School of Law where he was an honors graduate, president of the Moot Court Honor Board, an inductee into the National Order of the Barristers and the winner of each of the Mock Trial, Appellate Advocacy and Judson Falknor competitions.
