Phil Martelli

As a keynote speaker, Phil Martelli continues to be in demand as he conveys valuable lessons about leadership and life with his humorous entertaining style.  Martelli shares many of his stories and life lessons in his popular book, Don't Call Me Coach: A Lesson Plan For Life.

Martelli is not only passionate for coaching, but also for his work in the community. He is one of the leaders of the Philadelphia chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer, as the coaches from the city's six Division I schools strive to raise awareness and funding to defeat the disease. He's received numerous honors for his community work, and was named the 2004 "Citizen of the Year" by the March of Dimes, inducted into the CYO Hall of Fame for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and honored by the National Adoption Center. His alma mater, Widener University, bestowed upon him an honorary doctorate in public service in May 2004. He received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Cabrini College in May 2006.  He received another honorary doctorate for public service in 2010 from Immaculata University.

“Phil Martelli certainly presents a wonderful example for anyone who want to become a better parent a better coach or a better person.”
Cathy Rush, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

“Phil Martelli is without question the most passionate individual I have ever been associated with.  Whether it is family, friends, team members, or anyone who has the privilege of being in Phil’s world, there is no one more committed to helping others reach their potential.”
Geno Auriemma  Head Women’s Basketball Coach, University of Connecticut, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

  “It‘s been a long time since I’ve seen several hundred teenagers mesmerized into total silence for an hour.   Your speech was an inspiration for all ages, your theme of learning, of teaching and touching others every day.”  JK

  “Phil Martelli has lived a legacy of making people feel good!” RFT

 “Thanks for taking the time to “touch the lives” of our 800 students.  Your passion and energy, as well as, commitment to team, profession, family and community are inspiring..”  MJ

Leadership

Motivation

Team Building

2004 Consensus National Coach of the Year

Four-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (2005, 2004, 2001, 1997)

Head Coach, 2005 USA Basketball Under 21 World Championship Team

In 17 seasons as Saint Joseph's University head coach, Phil Martelli has built a program that is consistently one of the top in the conference, a perennial post-season participant and a key player on the national scene, while earning his place among the top coaches in the school's storied history. He has worked for 27 years overall at SJU, including 10 seasons as an assistant coach.

Martelli is now the Hawks' all-time leader in career victories with his 17-year mark of 320-223. He earned the record with the victory over Morgan State on December 28, 2011, breaking the mark held by Bill Ferguson (309). Setting the school record for wins in a season (30) in 2004, Martelli has guided SJU to 20 or more victories seven times in the past 17 seasons, which is the most for any Hawks' coach. He is the "dean" of Atlantic 10 coaches, being the longest tenured active coach and owning a 159-112 record in Atlantic 10 play, which is the most conference wins for any active coach.

 In 2011-12, Martelli and the Hawks rebounded from two subpar seasons to win 20 games and return to the postseason by earning an NIT bid. Saint Joseph's boasted a young and exciting squad, and also one of the most balanced in school history, as five different players received Atlantic 10 honors, which is the most ever for the Hawks. During the course of the season, SJU scored two wins over Top 25 teams (Creighton and Temple), while Martelli became the school's all-time leader in victories.

In 2010-11, Martelli guided the youngest squad in his career, which included three freshmen starters. The Hawks made an exciting late-season run, earning a berth in the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a win in the final regular-season game, and won two games in the tourney to reach the semifinals. Martelli reached two milestones with his 300th career victory (March 11) and his 150th conference win (March 5), while coaching his 500th game and 250th A-10 contest.

 Martelli's 2009-10 squad went 11-20 coming off a 2008-09 season that saw the Hawks go 17-15 for his ninth consecutive winning season. Among the highlights of `08-09 was Ahmad Nivins earning AP Honorable Mention All-America honors and becoming the third Hawk in six years to garner the Atlantic 10's Player of the Year Award. Nivins was chosen by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2009 NBA Draft, becoming the third player coached by Martelli to be drafted.

 The 2007-08 Hawks reached the Atlantic 10 Championship game for the third time in four years and earned the program's 19th bid to the NCAA Tournament, and Martelli's fifth. The 11th-seeded Hawks fell to sixth-seeded Oklahoma in the NCAA First Round, while ending the year at 21-13.

 Martelli reached a significant milestone in 2006-07, when he surpassed Hall of Famer Jack Ramsay for second place on the school's all-time list for wins (236), while guiding a young squad to 18 victories.

 Martelli has also been at his best when it counts the most as his 17 postseason wins (6 NCAA, 11 NIT) are the most in school history, ahead of Ramsay's 12. Martelli ranks first among Hawk coaches with a .630 postseason winning percentage (17-10) and has taken SJU to the postseason in eight of the last 12 years, and 10 times in his 17 seasons.

 Martelli turned in another top-notch coaching performance in 2005-06, as the Hawks went from a 10-12 record to win eight consecutive games to reach the Atlantic 10 championship game for the second year in a row.SJU finished 19-14 and was rewarded with its sixth consecutive postseason bid in the NIT.

 In 2004-05, Martelli turned in perhaps a more remarkable coaching job than in 2003-04. Faced with the loss of two NBA first-round draft picks, the Hawks struggled early on, but Martelli guided SJU to 21 wins in the calendar year of 2005 to finish 24-12. Saint Joseph's posted the conference's best record (14-2), won its fifth straight regular-season title to tie the league record, earned the A-10's top seed and reached the title game. He was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the second straight season and the fourth time in his career. SJU earned its fifth consecutive postseason bid and made an exciting six-game run in the NIT, falling on a last-second shot in the championship game.

In 2003-04, Martelli guided a focused and unselfish squad that became the most compelling story in college basketball. The Hawks went undefeated in the regular season, reached the pinnacle as the top-ranked team in the nation and earned the school's first-ever number-one seed in the NCAA Tournament, while advancing to the Elite Eight. Jameer Nelson was the consensus National Player of the Year and with teammate Delonte West, were both first-round selections in the NBA Draft. SJU opened the season ranked 12th in the polls and moved up throughout the year, taking the top spot on March 8, 2004, for the first time ever, while finishing fifth in the polls, for SJU's highest final ranking since 1966. It was a school-record fourth straight season, and fifth in Martelli's tenure, that the Hawks were ranked in the AP poll.

Martelli joined with Nelson to sweep the national coach and player awards, marking one of the few times in history that the top player and coach were from the same school. In addition to the national awards, he was the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the third time and a repeat winner of the Big 5 Coach of the Year.

He served as the head coach of the 2005 USA Under-21 World Championship Team, which earned a fifth-place finish at the FIBA U21 World Championship in Argentina. He had previously worked with USA Basketball as an assistant coach for the USA's gold-medal winning teams at both the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men and the 1998 Goodwill Games.

Martelli's commitment to Saint Joseph's is equaled by the commitment to him. Having received a contract extension in 2004, the University took that further in 2008 when it extended his contract through 2015-16.

He served as the head coach of the 2005 USA Under-21 World Championship Team, which earned a fifth-place finish at the FIBA U21 World Championship in Argentina. He had previously worked with USA Basketball as an assistant coach for the USA's gold-medal winning teams at both the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men and the 1998 Goodwill Games.

One of the more colorful coaches in the nation, Martelli's personality, wit and accessibility have always made him a media favorite. His popularity grew to an even higher level in 2004, as the Hawks remained unbeaten and the coach was besieged by media requests from all over the country. Because of his cooperation, the Saint Joseph's story was well-documented and told by countless media outlets nationwide.

He is one of the more respected coaches in the game, and is currently serving as the First Vice President on the NABC's Board of Directors and is a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Ethics Coalition.

Martelli is not only passionate for coaching, but also for his work in the community. He is currently the chair of the Coaches vs. Cancer National Council as well as the co-chair of the Philadelphia chapter of that organization, as the city's coaches have become one of the top fundraising groups in the country. He's received numerous honors for his community work, and was named the 2004 "Citizen of the Year" by the March of Dimes, inducted into the CYO Hall of Fame for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and honored by the National Adoption Center. His alma mater, Widener University, gave him an honorary doctorate in public service in May 2004, while he has also received honorary doctorates from Cabrini College (2006) and Immaculata University (2010).

A 1976 graduate of Widener, Martelli began his career on Hawk Hill with SJU's 1985-86 NCAA Tournament team. After 10 years as an assistant at Saint Joseph's, Martelli was named the 14th coach in school history on July 20, 1995, and just the third non-alumnus to follow in the storied tradition of SJU coaches.

Martelli burst onto the scene in his first season (1995-96) and took the squad to the NIT championship game. He followed that in 1996-97 with the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, along with a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16.

Prior to his arrival at SJU, Martelli spent seven years as head basketball coach at Bishop Kenrick High School and had a stint as assistant coach at Widener, helping guide the Pioneers to the 1978 NCAA Division III Final Four.

As a point guard at Widener, he was part of the NCAA Tournament teams in 1974-75 and 1975-76, and set the school's single season and career assist marks.

Martelli and his wife Judy, a former basketball player with the legendary Immaculata College teams, have three children and two grandchildren. His two sons are following in his footsteps as Phil, Jr., a 2003 SJU graduate, is an assistant basketball coach at the University of Delaware and Jimmy is an assistant coach at Rutgers University. Daughter Elizabeth is a 2009 graduate of Saint Joseph's.

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