Casey Crawford, a graduate from Bishop O’Connell’s class of 1995, hit rarified heights in two very different worlds: playing in the NFL and becoming a founder/CEO of a billion-dollar business. 

  Crawford played football at Bishop O’Connell where he rose to popularity and stardom in the highly competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, or WCAC, and continued to play football at the University of Virginia as a tight end. Crawford had a successful career at UVA and was rated the 11th-best tight end in the 2000 draft. 

He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as a rookie free agent in 2000 and played with them for a season. He then got picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he played with them for 2 seasons. In 2003 Casey Crawford won a super bowl with the Buccaneers. Then in March 2003, he decided to retire from the NFL. 

Although Crawford’s stint in the NFL was brief, he always took pride in being an NFL player.  He also believed that he and anyone else who wore an NFL uniform had an advantage that they could leverage. 

Crawford, whose NFL career ended shortly before the 2007 recession, had established a career in real estate; however, the devastation of the recession inspired him to start his own mortgage company. Driven by the Christian values he shares with his co-founder Toby Harris, Crawford’s mortgage company was “developed as a hope-filled paradox to a dismal reality” (Faith Driven Entrepreneur). He named his company Movement Mortgage with the hope and mission to be a movement of change in the housing industry, corporate cultures, and communities. Movement Mortgage’s mission is to help and value people. They also have a unique approach to their customers by centering around helping their homebuyers, quickly and easily and making a relationship with their buyers by constantly keeping in touch and communicating with them. 

Today, Crawford’s company is worth billions, employing more than 4,500 people and having 650 locations throughout all 50 states. Movement Mortgage has invested $100 million and he is involved in helping charter schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, and have 3 schools of their own. They hope to create a national network of Title 1 charter schools that transforms the educational opportunities for underserved children across America. Casey and his company are also involved in Movement Vision Trips. Their goal and mission are to love and value people from all over the world by taking a monthly mission trip and giving an opportunity to all Movement Mortgage employees to serve the nation and build relationships on an international level. They have traveled and helped countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Thailand, and Nicaragua.