Mustang Report
The Crozier Era
Follow head coach Alex Crozier’s journey from player to alumnus to leading the women’s soccer program for 33 years.
Written by Dylan Greene // Photos courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics
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Head coach Alex Crozier leads a practice session with the women’s soccer team.
In 1991, Alex Crozier (Civil Engineering ’84) approached Santa Clara women’s soccer head coach Jerry Smith about a possible volunteer coaching opportunity.
Before he said yes, Smith had one question: “You’re an engineer, why do you want to do that?”
Crozier responded, “I want to be the coach at Cal Poly.”
At that time, women’s soccer was not a sponsored sport for the Mustangs — the school only had a club team. But Crozier knew if the chance to coach at his alma mater ever materialized, he wanted the job. About a year later, Cal Poly Athletics officially added women’s soccer as part of the plan to move up to Division I, and Crozier became the program’s first and only head coach.
“I can’t imagine ending up at a better place,” he said.
After 33 years and 326 victories, Crozier officially retired at the conclusion of the 2024 season as the winningest head coach in the history of Big West women’s soccer.
“It’s gone by in a flash, and every year is a new adventure — every year is different,” he said. “It sounds like a long time — it’s over half my life — but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
First image: Crozier as a midfielder for the Cal Poly men’s soccer team. Second image: Crozier (right) with Judy King, his future wife.
Growing up in Fresno, Crozier had his sights set on going to Cal Poly and trying out for the men’s soccer team. Crozier achieved his goal: enrolling at Cal Poly in the fall of 1979 and earning a spot on the team. His head coach, Wolfgang Gartner, became a mentor.
Following his freshman season, Crozier suffered a hairline fracture in his tibia during an intramural soccer game. The next season, he played in one match before reaggravating the injury, forcing him to redshirt.
In the spring of that year, a group of athletes including Katey Kennedy and Judy King — Crozier’s future wife — created the Cal Poly Women’s Soccer Club. While Crozier was sidelined for the season, he volunteered to coach the women’s squad along with some of his teammates.
“I didn’t know what I was doing, but I gave it a shot,” he said. “It’s weird, things happen in your life, and you look back and you think, ‘I think that happened for a reason.’”
When he returned to the pitch, team captain Crozier shined as a midfielder, earning All-Conference honors in 1982 and 1983. He graduated in 1984 and moved to the Bay Area to start his career in civil engineering.
As I look back on it, it’s less about the soccer and more about the people.
The game remained a major part of Crozier’s life after college. He continued playing the sport and volunteered to coach multiple teams outside of his full-time engineering work.
“I wasn’t getting paid, I just loved to coach,” he said.
That was around the time he got involved with Santa Clara’s coaching staff as a volunteer — but his employer was taking notice.
“Every day, I’d walk by my boss’s office at 5 p.m. to leave for soccer practice, and he’d just shake his head,” Crozier remembers. “At that point, it became clear that engineering was paying the rent, but I really loved coaching soccer.”
Then, Crozier heard from Coach Gartner that his dream job of coaching at Cal Poly was becoming real. He interviewed for the position and accepted the role starting with the 1992 season.
Crozier on the pitch with the women’s soccer team in Spanos Stadium.
The transition included a significant drop in pay from his engineering work. Crozier spent many nights sleeping on the floor and even in a garage for a time while King, who Crozier married in 1987, stayed in the Silicon Valley to keep her job. They saw one another during Crozier’s recruiting trips in the Bay Area.
Eventually, King joined Crozier in San Luis Obispo. “She really made this all work,” he said. “She had a job that allowed me to take this job, so there’s no way I could have done this without her support.”
Across his storied career, Crozier led Cal Poly to 10 regular season conference championships, six NCAA Tournament appearances and three Big West Tournament titles. In 1993 — the program’s second year — he helped the team advance to the Division II national championship match in Miami, where the Mustangs finished runner-up. Crozier was named coach of the year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Crozier entered his final season as one of the longest active tenured head coaches in all of Division I women’s soccer. He ranks in the top 45 all-time in career victories among Division I head coaches.
Crozier (center) with the women’s soccer team during a match with UC Davis in October 2024.
Looking back, he’s most proud of how nearly every student-athlete has come through the program with a positive experience. He said he tried his best to create a fun yet competitive environment.
“You should enjoy doing what you’re doing,” he said. “Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Across the decades, players on Crozier’s teams have earned All-Big West Team honors a combined 140 times. The program has had seven players named Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year, three named Cal Poly Scholar-Athletes of the Year and four NCAA Leadership Conference nominees. Some of his players have gone on to play professionally, and some have represented different nations in international play.
“As I look back on it, it’s less about the soccer and more about the people,” he said. “I enjoyed bringing a group together and seeing what we could create. That’s where I got my joy from, and I got to do it here at a fantastic university with a beautiful sport.”
One coincidence in Crozier’s final season bookended his career in poetic fashion. This fall, he had the opportunity to coach Aynsley Conner, the daughter of Cathie Cardoza Conner, who played on Crozier’s first team in 1992.
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“Soccer was just a vehicle that we used here to help people grow and become better versions of themselves,” he said.
Crozier isn’t quite sure what’s next, but he will undoubtedly spend more time with King, who recently retired. They plan to hike the 500-mile Camino de Santiago in Spain this spring.
“I feel like the program is at a really good point right now,” he said reflecting on his time at Cal Poly. “I’ve learned a ton, and I’ve made a ton of mistakes, but I’ve grown from them. Someone else [will] figure out how the rest of the journey goes.”
