News & Media

700 Achieved!

OWU Men’s Head Soccer Coach Scores New Record

Update:

On Sept. 22, OWU men’s soccer head coach achieved his 700th win. The Bishops 1-0 victory over the Oberlin Yeomen made Martin the first NCAA men’s soccer coach in any division to reach the 700-win mark. Read more about the victory on www.battlingbishops.com.

The OWU men’s soccer team takes the field next at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 against the Crusaders of Capital University. Congratulations, Coach Martin and Go, Bishops!

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Original Story:

Jay Martin is this close to adding another record to his already impressive coaching resume.

When his Battling Bishop men’s soccer team wins just two more games, Martin will reach a record-setting 700 victories as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s soccer coach.

The team takes on the Otterbein Cardinals at 7 p.m. today, Sept. 19, in Westerville and the Oberlin Yeomen at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at OWU’s Jay Martin Soccer Complex, renamed after the iconic coach in 2012. Both games will be streamed online at owu.edu/BishopsLive.

Even before he reaches this milestone, Martin already is the winningest coach in NCAA Division III soccer history. He joined the Ohio Wesleyan University faculty in 1977 and has led the Bishop men’s soccer team to national championships in 1998 and 2011. Along the way, his teams have compiled a 270-27-19 record in conference play, achieved a winning percentage of .884, and won 26 conference crowns.

Associate head coach Travis Wall ’12, a member of the 2011 national championship team, says the players are excited for Martin and his impending 700th win.

“I know it would mean a lot to the guys to help deliver such a special moment,” says Wall, who earned NCAA DIII Player of the Year honors in 2011 under Martin’s leadership. “To be honest, we have not talked about this in the locker room or the coaches’ office once this year. That’s the kind of person Jay is.

“He is about to become the first and only NCAA men’s college soccer coach to get to the 700 win mark, and he doesn’t want it to be a distraction to the season,” says Wall, who joined OWU coaching staff in 2015. “That kind of selflessness rubs off on everyone in this program.

“Jay has put so much into this program over his career and to be a part of a win that no other coach has ever experienced would be something that I think everyone would relish,” Wall says. “He does so much for this program and this university that goes unnoticed that I know we would all enjoy helping him make history.”

Read more about Martin, the Battling Bishop men’s soccer team, and Martin’s extraordinary coaching success at BattlingBishops.com.