Mark Crabtree is remembered for so many accomplishments on and off the golf course, including leading the Colorado State University golf team from its days as a club sport to a scholarship program which qualified for the NCAA Championship Finals.
Crabtree is a consummate leader, from his remarkably impressive playing days to his talent as a coach and teacher, and his work in golf organizations and civic affairs.
He attended Rocky Mountain High School and then the University of Colorado, where he was a four-year standout on the golf team as well as an Evans Caddie Scholar. As a player, he was awesome—CGA Match Play champion 1975, 1976, 1992 and 1994; 10 times a top-five finisher in the CGA Stroke Play; into the round of 16 in the 1990 U.S. Amateur; 1990 CGA Public Links champion; and winner of countless state-wide invitationals.
As a mentor, Crabtree served nine years as teacher and coach in the Fort Collins Poudre District before taking over as Colorado State University’s coach. And what a run as recruiter and coach he had. He led the Rams to the NCAA Championship Finals in 1999 and was named 1998 NCAA District Coach of the Year.
At CSU he created the CSU-CU Booster Challenge series and started fundraising programs at both CSU and the University of Louisville, where he served as head coach of the men’s golf team from 1999 to 2020. In 2008, Mark began a two-year term as president of the Golf Coaches Association of America. Finally, Mark is a board member of the Kids for Cancer Foundation.
