Louisville Men’s Golf Coach Mark Crabtree is one of the longest tenured coaches in the athletic department. He’s had consistent success over the course of his illustrious career. This season, however, may have been his best. It also happens to be his last as he is retiring.
The Louisville Men’s Golf team hosted their first regional ever and advanced to the NCAA championships, but weren’t able to advance to the final round. The success of the team has led to Coach Crabtree being named one of 5 finalists for Dave Williams Award for Division I National Coach of the Year. It would be a fitting conclusion for Coach Crabtree to wrap up his wonderful career with this award.
For more information about Coach Crabtree and this award, check out UofL’s press release below.
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville men’s golf coach Mark Crabtree has been named one of five finalists for the Dave Williams Award, presented to the Division I National Coach of the Year, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced today.
During the 2019-20 season, Crabtree led the Cardinals to a No. 11 ranking by Golfweek and a No. 14 standing by Golfstat — when the season ended in mid-March.
Louisville won three tournaments in this past year, the third-best total in school history, and the most since the 2006-07 squad picked up six wins. This year, the Cardinals won the Bearcat Invitational, Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, and the Dorado Beach Collegiate.
Matthias Schmid and John Murphy earned GCAA/PING All-American honorable mention honors, with Murphy leading the squad with a pair of wins. The senior captured wins at the Bearcat Invitational and the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate – the first two wins of his career.
Crabtree, who was in his 21st season as the Cardinals’ head coach, announced his retirement before the start of the spring season. Crabtree’s 21-year tenure stands as the longest tenure of any head coach in the history of the Louisville golf program. He’s the only coach in school history to lead the program into postseason play, appearing in 11 NCAA Regionals and advancing to the NCAA championships on four occasions – the most recent coming during the 2019 season.
His career with the Cardinals includes the most wins by a UofL coach with 30, which included three BIG EAST titles in 2006, 2007, and 2009, and two BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors in 2007 and 2009. His 2008 team posted a school best 10th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
The other finalists are Michael Beard of Pepperdine, Jerry Haas of Wake Forest, Ryan Hybl of Oklahoma and Greg Sands of Texas Tech.
