Cal Poly Mustangs football
The Cal Poly Mustangs are the football team representing California Polytechnic State University located in San Luis Obispo, California.
Cal Poly Mustangs football
1915
Don Oberhelman
Paul Wulff
1st season, 3–8 (.273)
Alex G. Spanos Stadium
(capacity: 11,075)
Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center
FieldTurf
515–440–20 (.538)
0–1 (.000)
Division II: 1 (1980)
20
Poly green, copper gold, and stadium gold[1]
Ride High, You Mustangs
Musty the Mustang
The team plays its home games at Mustang Memorial Field, at the NCAA Division I FCS level in the Big Sky Conference. The current head coach is Paul Wulff, who began his tenure in December 2022.
Mustang Memorial Field, formerly known as Mustang Stadium and then Alex G. Spanos Stadium, is an 11,075-seat multi-purpose stadium on the campus of California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). It is the home field of the Cal Poly Mustangs football and soccer teams.
The stadium was renovated largely from funding via the late Alex Spanos, a Cal Poly alumnus, American billionaire real estate developer, founder of the A. G. Spanos Companies, and then-majority owner of the Chargers of the National Football League (NFL).
Originally opened 89 years ago in 1935 with a capacity of 8,500, the stadium was expanded in 2006 to its current capacity and, following the completion of a $21.5-million renovation, was then renamed Alex G. Spanos Stadium [84][85]
Previous expansions to the stadium's steel east-side grandstands were completed in 1972[86] and 1979.[87]
In 2013, Cal Poly replaced the south end zone rented stands with permanent aluminum stands improving handicapped access. Additionally, Cal Poly renovated the lower portion of the older east-side bleachers to add handicapped seats and improve accessibility and egress. The new south endzone stands increased capacity by 345 seats.[88]
Artist renderings of further increasing the stadium's capacity to 25,000 were released in 2010.[89]
The playing field is aligned north-northwest to south-southeast at an approximate elevation of three hundred feet (90 m) above sea level. Formerly natural grass, FieldTurf was installed in 2022.
In November 2022, the university announced the facility would be renamed Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center, reflecting a new 10-year naming rights agreement between the college and the healthcare organization.[90]
"Pride of the Pacific" marching band routines[edit]
Cal Poly's band is a popular staple at home football games, performing a wide variety of halftime shows and postgame renditions, along with in-game music following first downs, touchdowns and significant defensive plays. On football gamedays, the band's rehearsals, for a playbook of roughly 70 charts, typically start at about 9 a.m. on campus.[145] The band members take a Field Show Marching Skills class as part of their curriculum.[146]
