April 17, 2008

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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Marist College named Chuck Martin the program's sixth Division I head men's basketball coach on Thursday. The announcement was made by Director of Athletics Tim Murray at a press conference in the Cabaret of the school's Student Center.

"I am pleased to welcome Chuck and his family to Marist College," Murray said. "Chuck has worked hard over the past 15 years coaching and building strong relationships in the basketball community. Chuck has coached at five Division I programs and I'm confident he will use his relationships and experience to continue to build our basketball program."

Martin comes to Poughkeepsie after having spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Memphis. The Tigers reached the national championship game in the 2007-08 season, and set a single-season Division I record for most victories with 38. The previous year, Memphis went 33-4 and reached the Elite Eight. The Tigers also became the first team in the history of Conference USA to compile a perfect regular season while winning the conference tournament, a feat which was duplicated this past season.

"My family and I are extremely happy to be a part of the Marist community," Martin said. "I'm excited to be back in my home state, and I'm looking forward to continuing a fine basketball tradition at Marist."

"I'd like to welcome Chuck and his family not only to Marist, but to Dutchess County," Marist President Dr. Dennis J. Murray said. "I think they'll find that this is a great community to live in, raise a family and build a basketball program. We have a great college campus, terrific fans and the best band in the area. He's inheriting the foundation for a good program, and we're looking forward to seeing him building on this.

"Tim Murray and the search committee were convinced that Chuck Martin would embrace the Marist values and embrace the highest academic standards of the college. That was an important consideration in choosing him. We look forward to him being the coach at Marist for many years to come."

A native of the Bronx, Martin has served as a Division I assistant coach at five institutions. Prior to his time at Memphis, Martin was an assistant coach at St. John's University from 2004-06. There, he played an integral role in helping upgrade the Red Storm's talent base. In January of 2006 campaign, St. John's recorded victories over two nationally-ranked opponents - then-undefeated Pittsburgh and Louisville - within a span of five days.

Before heading to St. John's, Martin spent three years at Drexel University, where he worked under James "Bruiser" Flint. The Dragons reached the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship game in 2003, and earned postseason National Invitation Tournament berths in 2003 and 2004. Drexel compiled a record of 36-18 in regular-season Colonial games in Martin's three years at the Philadelphia school. There, he helped develop Bashire Mason, who became the first player in Colonial history to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors as a freshman.

Martin also coached under Flint for one season at the University of Massachusetts, which came in the 2000-01 season. That year, the Minutemen reached the Atlantic-10 Tournament championship game. He began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Manhattan College during the 1999-2000 season. Martin's strong roots in New York City helped land All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference players Muggsy Green, Jared Johnson and 2004 NBA Draft selection Luis Flores.

Before embarking on his college coaching career, Martin served as camp director of the Eastern Invitational Basketball Camp. This experience enabled him to establish strong relationships on the East Coast with several of the top high schools, prep schools and AAU coaches. He also worked as an assistant coach at national powers St. Raymond's and LaSalle Academy in New York. Martin was an assistant at LaSalle from 1993-95, when he worked with future NBA players Ron Artest and Shamgod Wells. In his time at St. Raymond's Martin tutored former NBA center Ernest Brown and All-America and Virginia standout Majestic Mapp.

Martin, who played at St. Raymond's for three years, was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1998.

Martin began his college playing career at Champlain Junior College in Vermont, where he captained a pair of NJCAA tournament teams. He played his final two seasons at Monmouth University, where he played point guard and averaged 7.1 points per game.

Martin is a 1993 graduate of Monmouth with a bachelor's degree in Communications. He and his wife, Lee, have three children -- a daughter, Ashley-Monet (10), and two sons, Jordan (5) and Justin (3).

Martin's contract will run through the 2013-14 season. Per school policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.