Joe Crispin played guard for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1997 to 2001 alongside his younger brother Jon Crispin. Crispin was named First Team All Big Ten as a senior in 2001 averaging 19.5 points per game and shooting 35.6% from the 3-point line. The Nittany Lions finished that season with a record of 21-12 and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament as a 7-seed. Penn State reached the Sweet 16 after a win over Providence in the 1st round and a 2nd round 82-74 upset of 1-seed North Carolina. Crispin led all scorers with 21 points in the upset win. The Lions would lose to 11-seed Temple in the Sweet 16 ending their season and Crispin's career.Crispin was not drafted, but he signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2001. He was cut after playing in only 6 games for LA and later picked up by the Phoenix Suns. Joe played in 15 games for the Suns averaging 8.6 minutes per game in the 2001-02 NBA season. Crispin was waived in 2002 and has since played all over the world in the CBA, ABA, and many European basketball leagues. In 2004 while playing with the Kansas City Knights, Crispin was named the MVP of the ABA.
Joe Crispin is currently playing professional basketball in Spain. He signed with CAI Zaragoza of Spain's LEB Gold League in January of 2007. In the 2007 playoffs, Zaragoza reached the Spanish LEB Gold Semifinals.