Crandell chosen as Middleton's next A.D.

Brad Crandell always has a question for candidates that interview for jobs at Middleton High School.

Crandell, the Cardinals’ assistant athletic director since 2022, believes that query tells him a lot about a candidate’s personality, as well as their passion for the job.

“One thing I ask is, ‘If you were to get this job, what’s the first thing you would do?’ ” Crandell said. “Will you celebrate? Will you call your wife or husband? Will you do a dance?

“I love it. I truly think it shows someone’s personality, who you are and if you’re truly passionate about it.”

Interestingly, Crandell found himself on the other end of that question last week.

Crandell was informed on May 8 that he was chosen to be Middleton’s new athletic director. And as Crandell walked from principal Peg Shoemaker’s office back to his own after hearing the good news, the irony of the moment wasn’t lost on him.

“All of a sudden, here I was seeing how I’d react,” Crandell said with a chuckle. “So I walked back to my office from outside the building and called my wife and let her know. And I had to leave a voice mail.”

When Crandell’s wife, Heather, hit play, she heard a man who was over the moon.

Crandell emerged from a field of 15 applicants for the job. Three finalists came to Middleton High School for interviews on May 7. Crandell was the only candidate brought back on May 8, when he was offered — and happily accepted — the position.

The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School Board is expected to approve the decision at its meeting on May 12.

Crandell will officially replace Jamie Sims as Middleton’s A.D. on July 1. Sims had accepted a position as Middleton’s Associate Principal, but recently changed his mind and took a job as the new Principal at Milwaukee Academy of Science.

Bobbie Reinhart, who will become Middleton’s new principal at the end of this school year, and Shoemaker headed the committee that chose Crandell.

“He’ll be amazing,” Reinhart said of Crandell. “It’s great to have him from kind of his position now as assistant athletic director and activities coordinator. Obviously he knows the ins and outs of the system and our current programming. He has really strong relationships with the students, the coaches, the staff members, with our advisors and is going to fill the position in a really, really solid way.”

When word of Crandell’s promotion made its way through MHS, several coaches were almost as excited as Crandell himself.

“I’m very excited to continue working with Brad in his new role as athletic director,” said MHS girls golf coach Becky Halverson. “He does an outstanding job managing all the moving parts of the athletic department and has a great way of supporting both coaches and student-athletes. I’m happy for Brad and confident he’ll continue to lead with integrity, vision, and clear direction. I look forward to what’s ahead under his leadership.”

Kevin Pauls, who’s led Middleton’s boys soccer program to consecutive WIAA Division 1 state championships, agreed with Halverson.

“Brad is a great hire,” Pauls said. “He obviously has familiarity with the school, the athletic department and most importantly the student athletes. He's got a great rapport with coaches. He really lets the students take ownership of the things they can. He will continue to lead our department to great success on and off the field.”

Crandell was a football and baseball player at Eau Claire Memorial High School, then majored in Kinesiology at UW-Madison. During Crandell’s final year at UW (2004-’05), he began coaching football at Verona under Hall of Fame head coach Dave Richardson.

“I would say that’s when a fire got lit,” Crandell said.

Crandell remained at Verona after graduating from UW, working as an aide in special education. Then when a physical education and health job at the middle school opened, he jumped at the chance.

Crandell coached football and baseball during his time at Verona, and earned a Master’s degree from UW-La Crosse in 2019.

Crandell was named Middleton’s interim Assistant Athletic Director in 2022 and quickly had the “interim” tag removed. In the time since, Crandell has won many people over with his enthusiasm, zest and zeal for the job.

“My first thing out of my mouth in most scenarios is ‘What can I do to help?’ ” Crandell said. “I was rooted in that culture and that belief from a young age. What can I do to help? If I don’t know how to do it, I’ll learn how to do it.”

Crandell’s exemplary performance in his current role left a mark with many in the building. So when Crandell went to his interviews last week, many on the committee knew the positive mark he had already made at MHS.

“When you already know a candidate, it can be a really positive thing for a candidate,” Reinhart said. “It can also be really challenging because when you come into an interview room what you say has to be what you’ve done. You’re unable to hide anything in the interview process because people know the work you’re doing because you’ve been closely involved in it.

“But we feel really strongly that our athletic department and our activities and clubs are in a really good position right now. And Brad’s been a huge part of that.”

Despite having a comfort level with many on the hiring committee, Crandell said he was nervous beforehand. Crandell said his wife, Heather, and children Kate and Julia, provided a tremendous support system, though, and kept him grounded as he pursued a job he believed he was ready for.

“I operate that if you really care about something, you should feel nervous in those moments,” Crandell said. “Whether it’s a big game on a Friday night and you feel like you’re prepared, you’ve still got those nerves going.

“Same way here. I wanted to represent our community and do the best we could, and I think I did. I think the key to it was I went in and I was myself. I didn't try to be anyone else.”

Now, Crandell will lead a department that’s rooted in great tradition and has shined brighter than ever in recent years.

Since 2020, Middleton has won 14 state championships. The Cardinals captured five of those in the 2023-’24 school year alone, which tied a state record for most titles by a Division 1 school in a calendar year.

Crandell will oversee 31 sports, 95 clubs and handle countless other tasks at the state’s largest high school.

“We’re going to continue that collective leadership approach,” Crandell said. “I view myself as a visible servant leader. I’m here for others. That’s what I do, and I want to make sure that if people are experiencing joy and excitement it’s because of the connection’s we’ve made.

“I truly believe that the wins will take care of themselves if we focus on developing our people. And you can see it. We’re going to surround ourselves with the phrase that significance builds success. That’s going to be kind of our way of going.”

When the dust had settled and Crandell had time to exhale, he had one overriding thought.

“When I get out of bed every morning, I get to come do this,” he said. “That’s pretty cool.”