Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer

On April 28, 1950, Cal Poly hosted Fresno State for a friendly as part of the Country Fair on a College Campus event, marking the first-ever time soccer had been played on campus during Poly Royal.[3] By 1954, the campus' International Relations Club sponsored the team, which defeated UCLA in an exhibition match on campus.[4] In 1955, then-coach Hans Mager commented he "hope(d) to obtain some backing from the (athletic department) funds" in order to expand the team's schedule.[5] Later in 1955, Cal Poly won the regional Southern California Championship, advancing to face San Francisco for the state title.[6] The team took a hiatus from 1957 through 1959, returning in 1960 (playing only two matches) under the coaching of Anatol Hellman.[7]

By the 1966–1967 academic year, the Cal Poly Student Affairs Council began discussing an appropriation of a fund to allow the Mustangs to join the NCAA.[8] In July 1967, then-athletic director Robert Mott announced the addition of soccer after the council recognized the sport on a varsity level during the spring.[9]

In the fall of 1967, Cal Poly (coached by Terry Ward) fielded its first intercollegiate team, going 7-2-1 while finishing second in the Southern California Collegiate Soccer Association. Erwin Hildenhagen, Richard Kibushi, Luis Mejia and Dieter Thomas earned all-conference selections.[10]

Cal Poly enjoyed its second year in the SCCSA in the fall of 1968, again finishing in second place (behind UCLA), this time with a 7-2-2 record[11] under coach Mike Cirovic.

The first two seasons also saw the start of the since-fabled Blue-Green Rivalry (not formally called such at the time) with UC Santa Barbara, as Cal Poly won the very first matchup, at home, 2–0,[12] before losing on the road to the Gauchos later in 1967, 2–1. The two Central Coast rivals split a pair of matchups again in 1968. Each of the initial two intercollegiate seasons also included Cal Poly's first matchups with coastal power UCLA, resulting in a 2–2 draw in 1967 before a 1-1 stalemate in 1968, as both matches became the Bruins' only ties in the span.[13]

Following the 1968 season, Cal Poly's Ivan Gomez, Mejia and Vincent Gondwe made the all-conference honors list.[14]

Scheduling consistently proved to be more sporadic in immediately ensuing seasons, beginning with a 5–5 record in 1969, before the 1970 squad (coached by Bill Wesnousky[15]) opened practice more than a week into October, leading to an abbreviated 2-4-0 season.[16] Cal Poly didn't field a team in 1971,[17] before Carmen Sacco assumed coaching duties from 1972 to 1974. The Mustangs' conference had a slight name change by this point, to: Southern California Intercollegiate Soccer Association.[18]

In seasons to follow, Cal Poly was managed by Manuel Casillas (1975[19] and 1976[20]), George Parry (1977,[21] during a 4-4-1[22] year) and Tom Hinkle (1978[23]). One of the standouts from this time was Jaime Saucedo, who went on to be chosen with the 84th overall pick by the L.A. Aztecs in the 1981 NASL Draft.

Wolfgang Gartner, following a three-year career playing as a midfielder in the ASL,[24] was appointed as Cal Poly head coach prior to the 1979 season, with the position becoming full-time in 1983.[25]

Curt Apsey tallied 52 goals for the Mustangs from 1980 to 1983, establishing the school's career scoring record.[26]

In 1986, Dan Campbell set the school's single-season scoring record[27] with 21 goals.[28] The 21-goal mark for a season broke the previous yearly record of 20[29] which had been set by Tom Gleason in 1982.[30] Campbell would go on to also finish his career with 52 goals, wrapping his career up in the fall of 1988 by tying the Cal Poly all-time scoring record.[31]

The 1993 season was perhaps the club's most successful while in Division II of the NCAA. Dan Fish was awarded the California Collegiate Athletic Association's Offensive Player of the Year award, the program's first,[32] while Gartner was named the conference's Coach of the Year. It was Gartner's second Coach of the Year award, with the other coming in 1986.[32] The 1993 season also featured MLS-bound Ryshiem Henderson, whom Gartner called "the fastest soccer player I have ever seen in my life."[33]

Gartner, who, according to an LA Weekly interview,[34] inspired local San Luis Obispo-raised DJ Wolfgang Gartner's naming, coached the Mustangs through 2005.

Paul Holocher, former MLS draft pick and brief USMNT-rostered attacking midfielder, was introduced as the Mustangs' new head coach on January 27, 2006.

In 2006, with then-Spanos Stadium still under construction, Cal Poly played its home soccer games at the Sports Complex,[35][36] north of the baseball and softball fields, now known as the turf fields.[37] 2007 brought the completion of the renovation and expansion of Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center and the ability to host larger crowds.[38]

Posting a record in 2008 of 11–6–6, Cal Poly placed third in the Big West and qualified for the NCAA Division I Tournament. Cal Poly managed to upset No. 11-ranked UCLA, 1–0, to advance to the second round before losing 0–3 to No. 14 UC Irvine.

After eight years as head coach, Holocher announced on August 11, 2014, that he had stepped down to move to Hawai'i and serve as the Director of Development with Maui United Soccer Club.[39] In eight seasons, Holocher directed the Mustangs to a 72–60–25 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance, Cal Poly's second since joining Division I in 1994. Phil Ruskin, a second-year assistant coach, was promoted to be the interim head coach upon Holocher's departure, and coached the 2014 season.[40]

In December 2014, Cal Poly hired former United States Men's National Soccer Team Head Coach Steve Sampson. Sampson led the US in the 1998 World Cup and also served as an assistant coach in the 1994 World Cup. He coached Santa Clara to the 1989 national championship and coached the LA Galaxy to the 2005 MLS Cup and the US Open Cup.[41]

The Mustangs returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 following the program's first Big West Tournament match victory.[42] The season saw Cal Poly peak at No. 20 in the national Top 25 Poll on October 27.[43]

During the 2015 season, midfielder Chase Minter scored on a bicycle kick at CSUN, earning TopDrawerSoccer's national college Goal of the Week award.[44] Months after the 2015 season, Cal Poly saw three players chosen in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, tied for the seventh-most draft choices from one school across the country for the year.[45] Cal Poly made return trips to the conference tournament in 2019 and 2021.[46]

Sampson, citing health reasons with the advice of his doctors, announced an immediate retirement from coaching on October 18, 2022.[47] While lead assistant Billy McNicol was appointed to coach in Sampson's place for the remainder of the 2022 season, the university announced a pending national search to find his successor.[48]

Cal Poly announced lead Stanford assistant Oige Kennedy as the program's new head coach on December 9, 2022.[49]