Perry Crosswhite

Perry Rothrock Crosswhite AM (born 22 September 1947) is a former Australian Olympic basketballer and leading sport administrator.

He was born on 22 September 1947 in Washington, D.C. He moved to Australia in 1969 to play basketball. He married Janice Steel in 1970. He was naturalised in 1971. His wife Janice Crosswhite plays a major role in the promotion of women's sport in Australia and overseas. They have three daughters and a son. Two of his children, Ian and Anna, have played high level basketball in Australia.

Crosswhite played collegiate basketball (1966–1969) at Davidson College for coach Lefty Driesell. After Davidson, he moved to Australia in 1969 to play for Melbourne Tigers that were coached by Lindsay Gaze. He represented Australia at three Olympics – 1972 Munich, 1976 Montreal and 1980 Moscow. He captained the team at the 1976 and 1980 Games. He was captain of the Australian team at the 1974 FIBA World Championship. He played over 300 games for Australia. He was a member of the Victorian teams that won four national championship tournaments in 1971, 1973, 1975 and, 1979.

He was a secondary teacher with the Victorian Education Department from 1969 to 1973. Between 1973 and 1979, he was a Recreation/Sport Officer with the Victorian Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation. He was the first professional Recreation/Sport Officer employed by the Department. He held senior management positions with Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation between 1979 and 1983. In 1983, he moved to Canberra to take up a senior management position with the Department of Tourism and Recreation. He joined the Department when the Australian Government started its serious involvement in the development of sport, which included the establishment of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 1981.

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