Athletics Hall of Fame
Melvin "Mel" Crissey is a distinguished alumnus of North Georgia and graduated in 1964.
A member of the corps of cadets during his time at North Georgia, Crissey was a member of Delta and Golf companies, and the 1st and 2nd Battalion staffs. He was involved in numerous activities as a student and a cadet. He played intramural football while at North Georgia, and was one of the four founding cadets, and is the sole surviving founder, of the Order of Colombo.
Upon graduation and being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army, he served 22 years before retiring as Lieutenant Colonel in 1986. While on active duty, he played for and then coached the U.S. Army Soccer Team located in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. In 1986, Crissey was elected to be President of the South Texas Youth Soccer Association, where he led the organization to establish business offices, the Olympic Development Program for advanced training and offered more coaches and referee training programs. He was selected as Head Coach of the U.S. Deaf Olympic Soccer team in 1989 to lead the program in the 1990 World Games held in New Zealand.
Crissey's participation in athletics helped pave the way for North Georgia athletics as we know it today. When he graduated and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, he went on to carry an unprecedented legacy of service to others as a coach and leader in the world of soccer.
