Martelli is the second head coach in the A-10 to lose his job this month. George Washington fired Maurice Joseph after three seasons. He was 44-57 and 9-24 this season.
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Martelli coached the Hawks from 1995-2019. His final record was 444-328. The Hawks finished 11-20, 16-16 and 14-19 in his last three seasons. They reached the NCAA tournament seven times during his tenure and won the A-10 tournament three times. Martelli coached Saint Joseph’s to three victories against the Dayton team that reached the Elite Eight in 2014.
Phil Martelli, who St. Joseph's let go today, called me out of blue last summer to tell me his "Curb Your Enthusiasm" story about sitting next to a kid on a plane. We had talked about the show at A-10 media day. Hard not to root for that guy, and he always raved about UD fans.
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) March 19, 2019
In 2017, Martelli spoke at Incarnation School in Centerville before a game that night at UD Arena. He posed for a photo with then-Dayton coach Archie Miller's daughter, Leah.
After a loss to Dayton, Martelli spoke to several of Dayton’s seniors in the handshake line.
“I wanted to thank Scoochie and Pollard,” Martelli said. “It might be the last time I see them, unless our paths cross in Pittsburgh (at the Atlantic 10 Tournament.) It was important to me. Those seniors – all the seniors – I wanted to be sure that they knew that, as the aaah….the elder statesman in the league, I appreciate them.”
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