Favorite Jay Martin Story
Ryan Martin '05
Salem, NC
Fall of 2005 was my senior year and we had a very good team. We kicked it off in Germany like so many do, and headed into the season, we needed 22 wins to get him to 500 wins in his career, which was an objective for us but left no margin for error. We also thought 500 was getting close to the end of his career, which he obviously fooled us on, but after completing a perfect season and winning both the NCAC regular season and playoffs we accomplished a tremendous feat and a monumental milestone in his career. The journey that season was one of the most fun and memorable I could have ever imagined.
In 2011, I was coaching at Wake Forest, and OWU was in the final four and having a great season. The final four was in San Antonio, and my boss at the time and former OWU player, Jay Vidovich '82 and I were in Sarasota recruiting. We said if they made the final, we would go.
OWU ended up winning the semifinal, so we booked a trip and upon arrival, the San Antonio Riverwalk was red and black with a huge contingent of former players and people close to the program. It was really a moment where I could see my dad's greatest accomplishment and something much bigger than the national championships.
He had built a program with consistent success and a sense of belonging to something bigger than each of us, for everyone who wore the red and black. Stories go around about my dad and former teams, and you can really see what he built and the type of people he molded. It will be a moment I will remember forever and as a coach, is now something I will strive to emulate and create. I will never do it like he did, but even if I fall short, I'll find excellence.