Skyhawks

Tennessee Martin Skyhawks

General Information

NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Ohio Valley Conference
Past Conferences: Volunteer State Athletic Conference, Gulf South Conference
City: Martin, Tennessee
Arena: Skyhawk Arena

Championships:

NCAA Tournaments: 0
National Championships – 0
Conference Titles – 1 (2009)

Team History

Tennesee-Martin began to play in the 1951-52 season, going 6-12 in the team’s first year under coach J.C. Henson. It was the only year he coached the team, being replaced by Floyd Burdette for 1952-53. Burdette would go on to coach the Skyhawks for 19 years and finished with a 197-201 record, the most wins of any Tennessee-Martin coach. He led the team to its first conference title, as UT Martin won the Volunteer State Athletic Conference title in 1970.

Bob Paynter took over the program for the 1971-72 season and the Skyhawks enjoyed a few decent seasons but also had a few pretty bad ones. Paynter remained with Tennessee-Martin through the 1979-80 season, finishing with a record of 99-122. Art Tolid took over the team in 1980-81 and led the Skyhawks to their first NCAA Div. II Tournament berth in 1982.

The Skyhawks enjoyed some solid success under coach Tom Hancock, who took over the team in 1982-83 and won the Gulf South Conference regular season title in 1983 and again in 1988. Tennessee-Martin played in its second NCAA Div. II Tournament in 1983.

The Skyhawks made the move to Division I for the 1992-93 season and it was a struggle in the early going. UT Martin had its first winning season as a Division I team in 2001-02. The Skyhawks won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title in 2008-09 but were knocked out of the NCAA in the conference tournament. Tennessee-Martin did settle for an NIT berth but was defeated by Auburn in its first game.

The Skyhawks enjoyed some success under coach Heath Schroyer, who coached the team in 2014-15 and 2015-16, leading the squad to the CIT in both seasons, including the quarterfinals in 2015. Tennessee-Martin also competed in the CIT in 2017 under coach Anthony Stewart.

Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks All-Time Records

Points Scored

Myles Taylor, 1,734
Mike Meschede, 1,729
Lester Hudson, 1,727

Rebounds

Mike Rudolphi, 794
Myles Taylor, 765
Ryan DeMichael, 649

Assists

Kyle Herrin, 424
Larry Martin, 369
Jeremy Kelly, 359

Tennessee Martin Skyhawks FAQs

How many Skyhawks have been drafted by NBA teams?

Tennessee-Martin has had just one player drafted by the NBA when Lester Hudson was taken in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. He was taken 28th overall. Hudson played in the NBA in four different seasons, finishing with an average of 4.70 points per game.

Why are Tennessee-Martin teams called the Skyhawks?

According to the university, the name ‘Skyhawks’ is a three-part tribute to the school’s history. The first educational institution on the site of UT Martin was Hall-Moody Bible Institute. The school’s athletic teams were called “sky pilots,” a frontier term for preachers on that day. During World War II, UT Junior College contracted with the Naval War Training Service to help train pilots, while red-tail hawks are indigenous to the west Tennessee region. The references were merged into “Skyhawks.”

What team has Tennessee-Martin suffered the most losses against?

For some reason, Murray State has been a consistent thorn in the side of the Skyhawks. The teams have met 62 times through the end of the 2022-23 season and the Racers hold an impressive 55-7 record against Tennessee-Martin, Murray State has won by an average margin of 14.8 points.