Mark Crabtree - Men's Golf Coach - University of Louisville Athletic

Mark Crabtree

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
markc@GoCards.com
Phone:
852-8452

Louisville's run of NCAA Championship and regional appearances and two Atlantic Coast Conference individual champions are unprecedented in school history – four four trips to the NCAA Championships and 11 regional appearances highlight the career of head coach Mark Crabtree.

Entering his 21st season, Crabtree has developed a consistent method of winning that has resulted in vaulting the Cardinals into national prominence. His team's have also won a pair of BIG EAST titles.

He has shown the ability to develop top talent is on display with the development of Matthias Schmid, who earned the highest All-American honor in 2018-19 and begins the 2019-20 season as a first team preseason All-American. Two other pupils, Adam Hadwin and Derek Fathauer are excelling on the professional tour.

The 2018-19 season was a testament to the trajectory the men's golf program has been under Crabtree's direction. The Cardinals won the Old Town Club Collegiate and had 11 other finishes that were no lower than fifth.

Because's of Crabtree's continued dedication to building the brand and assisting in making the ULGC one of the top golf courses nationally, the Cardinals were awarded a regional for the first time. The Cardinals finished fourth to advance to the NCAA Championships, where the squad finished 29th.

The 2017-18 season was one of consistency for the Cardinals with a pair of wins and four other top-five finishes. Crabtree’s charges won the Louisville Cardinal Invitational and the Warrior Princeville by shooting a remarkable 56-under-par. The Cardinals advanced to the Columbus Regional, finishing ninth overall.

Crabtree guided the Cardinals to their third-straight regional appearance in 2015-116 and the program’s first NCAA Championship appearance since 2008 with a young squad — led by two freshmen and a sophomore.

Playing one of the most difficult courses in the country, Crabtree led the Cards to a fourth-place finish behind the play of Robin Sciot-Siegrist and Keegan de Lange.

Crabtree tutored Sciot-Siegrist — one of the top players in school history — to his second-straight ACC Championship — only the fourth time it happened in the history of the league.

The 2014-15 season was the first season the Cardinals competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference yet the success of the previous two seasons continued as they won the Cardinal Intercollegiate for the third consecutive year and appeared in their second straight NCAA Regional.

Crabtree aided Robin Sciot-Siegrist who finished the season with five straight top-10 finishes, including a co-ACC Championship performance, before earning an invitation to compete in the NCAA Championship as an individual.

Crabtree continued the success from the previous season with the Cardinals picking up another tournament win at the Cardinal Intercollegiate. He also guided the Cardinals to their first NCAA Regional apprearance as a team since 2009 when they got selected to compete in the Auburn Regional.

The 2012-13 season saw the Cardinals take home a pair of victories, winning the Cardinal Intercollegiate and the Boilermaker Invitational. Crabtree also mentored Robin Sciot-Siegrist to break the school's freshman record for top 10 finshes and also guided him to a trip to the NCAA regionals as an individual.

Crabtree guided the Cardinals to their first tournament win since the 2009 BIG EAST Championship when Louisville captured the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational.

In addition, Justin Dorward was selected to play as an individual in the NCAA Regional in Bowling Green, Ky. The Cardinals were runner-up at the BIG EAST Championship and finished in the top five at three additional tournaments.

The 2010-11 Cardinals posted the fifth-lowest team stroke average in school history and Karsten Clements ended his collegiate career with a runner-up finish at the BIG EAST Championship. Clements and Justin Dorward were named to the 2011 All-BIG EAST Men's Golf Team.

Riley Wheeldon capped off the 2009-10 season by being tabbed as the BIG EAST Men's Golfer of the Year while Chris Biuso also was selected to the All-BIG EAST Men's Golf Team.

The Cardinals won their second BIG EAST title in 2009 and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the fifth straight year. For his effort, Crabtree was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the second time.

Crabtree saw Adam Hadwin take home medalist honors at the BIG EAST Championship and set the school record for single-season stroke average at 71.79. Crabtree also guided freshman Riley Wheeldon who was named the BIG EAST Newcomer of the Year.

Hadwin continues his career on the Web.com Tour. Hardwin, narrowly missed earning a PGA Tour Card for the 2013 season. Needing to finish in the top 25 at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, Hadwin tied for 32nd after firing a 15-under par 417 at the 108-hole tournament.

Last year, Hadwin was named the Male Professional of the Year by the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. Hadwin was a full-time member of the Canadian Tour in 2011 and thrilled Canadians from coast to coast. Hadwin tied for 31st at the U.S. Open at Congressional before tying for fourth at the RBC Canadian Open in Vancouver. He closed 2011 as the highest ranked Canadian golfer on the Official World Golf Rankings at 214.

In 2007-08, the Cardinals posted their best finish in school history -- a tenth-place finish at the NCAA Championships at Purdue University. Playing one of the toughest courses in the country, the Cardinals were in contention for most of the tournament and had their highest finish at the event when Adam Rainaud tied for 13th overall. The Cardinals also won a pair of tournaments and finished second at the BIG EAST Championship. Derek Fathauer closed out his outstanding career with two tournament wins and also finished 69th at the United States Open. He became the first U of L player to make the cut at the US Open.

That season also saw Hadwin become an All-American Academic Scholar and Fathauer and Rainaud earned All-American accolades.

Crabtree has orchestrated a remarkable string of successful seasons for the Cardinals. Crabtree has guided his program to four straight regional appearances, two straight visits to the NCAA Championships and a BIG EAST title.

Crabtree's Cards have posted a top five team, a top seven individual, the top 10 career stroke averages in school history and placed numerous players in the U.S. Amateur tournament.

The Cardinals won a school record seven tournaments, which included their first BIG EAST Championship and advanced to the NCAA Championships, where they finished 27th overall in 2006-07.

Hosting the BIG EAST Championship for the first time, the Cardinals dominated play, as the Cardinals had four players finish in the top five.

In its first season in the BIG EAST in 2005-06, the Cardinals tied for the league title, but fell in a tight playoff to Notre Dame. It was Crabtree's highest finish in a league championship since taking over at the University of Louisville.

Despite the loss, the Cardinals advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the second straight season. Louisville finished 22nd in the NCAA West Regional in Tucson, Ariz.

The 2005-06 season was one of the best in school history, as the Cardinals won a pair of tournaments and finished in the top three in seven other tournaments.

Under Crabtree's direction in 2004-05, the Cardinals finished 15th in the NCAA Regional, just missing advancing to the NCAA Championships. Louisville also recorded 13 top 10 finishes, 12 top 20 finishes and won a school record four tournaments that season.

In 2003, Crabtree saw the Cardinals produce their first ever NCAA individual participant, as Brett Jones made the field.

During the 2001-02 campaign, Crabtree's young but talented squad notched a 291.5 collective stroke average, nearly six strokes better than the school record of 297.49 posted by the 1999-00 squad in Crabtree's first season in Louisville.
With one of the nation's top freshmen classes and senior Grant Sturgeon in the lineup, the Cards swung their way to one of the top seasons ever at U of L.

Sturgeon broke the individual season stroke record established the previous year by Chris Campbell, who twice earned All-Conference USA accolades under Crabtree, while also setting a new standard for career stroke average.

Following his playing days at U of L, Sturgeon took his game to the pro ranks and promptly claimed victories in each of his first two pro events, including the 2002 Kentucky Open. Sturgeon spent the `03 season playing on the Hooters Tour.

Prior to his arrival in the Derby City, Crabtree spent nine seasons as the head coach at Colorado State University. There, he saw the Ram program go from a non-scholarship program into a top 25 team and NCAA Championship contender. CSU qualified for four consecutive NCAA West Regionals under his guidance and qualified for its first NCAA Championship appearance in 1999. The Rams finished tied for 24th at the '99 championships held in Chaska, Minn.

Traditionally known as a cold-weather school, Colorado State entered the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Top 25 for the first time in 1998, finishing at No. 23.

The Rams also sent their first individual, Nigel Spence, to the NCAA Finals. As a result, Crabtree earned NCAA District VII Coach of the Year honors in '98.
Along the way, Crabtree put together one of the nation's most competitive schedules, taking his program to elite tournaments in Honolulu, San Diego, Phoenix and San Francisco.

Ram golfers responded to the challenge, posting 11 top 10 team finishes in 15 competitions in 1998-99, including a second consecutive team title at the prestigious Stanford Invitational. The Rams knocked off then-No. 1 Georgia Tech on their way to the `97 title, marking the first time in school history a team had defeated the nation's top-ranked team in any sport.

CSU's road to the top 25 and the NCAA Championships was not an easy one. His first class of Rams were homegrown and talented, leading CSU to four team championships, 27 top-five showings and two-runnerup finishes at the WAC Championship.

Crabtree, who played collegiately at the University of Colorado, was a four-time state champion and captured six Colorado Golf Association amateur titles. He also has been a qualifier for both the United States Golf Association Public Links and National Amateur Championships. He was selected to the Colroado Golf Hall of Fame in 2006.

Crabtree is married to the former Janie Huffman. They are the parents of Joshua (17) and Lauren (15).