The UT Martin Skyhawks football program is the intercollegiate

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team for the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee, United States. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outsi ...

Martin, Tennessee Martin is a city in Weakley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,825 according to the 2020 census. The city is the home of the University of Tennessee at Martin. History Martin is named for Captain William Martin. Willia ...

. The team competes in the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate ...

(FCS) as a member of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

(OVC). The school's first football team was fielded in 1925, while known as Hall-Moody Junior College (later changing it to University of Tennessee Junior College in 1927, which they kept until 1950). The team plays its home games at the 7,500 seat

Graham Stadium Hardy M. Graham Stadium is a 7,500-seat multi-purpose stadium in Martin, Tennessee. It is home to the University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks football team. The facility opened in 1964. It is located north of Tennessee State Route 431 (Uni ...

. They are coached by Jason Simpson. UT Martin's official mascot became the Skyhawks in 1995. The school lists three references regarding the name, such as the fact that when the school's first site was a Bible institute, the school's athletic teams were called "sky pilots", a frontier term for preachers. During World War II, UT Junior College contracted with the Naval War Training Service to help train pilots, who completed their flight training at an airport now near a high school. Also, Red-tail hawks are indigenous to the west Tennessee region. The previous names of the athletic team were the Junior Volunteers and the Pacers.

History

Classifications

*1961–1972: NCAA College Division *1973–1991: NCAA Division II *1992–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

Conference memberships

*1925–1927: Independent *1928–1950: Mississippi Valley Conference *1951–1970:

Volunteer State Athletic Conference The Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC) was a college athletic conference which was predominantly for smaller colleges in the U.S. state of Tennessee.Mid-South Athletic Conference Mid-South may refer to: Places * Mid-South (region), a region of the United States including portions of Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky * East South Central States, a region of the United States * Memphis metropolitan are ...

*1972–1989:

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the ...

*1990–1991: NCAA Division II Independent *1992–present:

Conference championships

UT Martin has won seven conference championships, four outright and three shared. † denotes co-championship

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

The Skyhawks have appeared in the FCS playoffs three times with an overall record of 2–3.

NCAA Division II

The Skyhawks have appeared in the Division II playoffs one time with an overall record of 1–1.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include: *

Romel Andrews Romel Andrews (born July 4, 1963) is an American former professional football defensive end who played eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He played college football at the U ...

* Jeremy Butler *

Mark Guy Mark Guy (born January 28, 1964) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played three seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders. He played college football at Univ ...

* Montori Hughes * Leon Reed * Jerry Reese * Fred Thomas * Ray Williams

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of July 22, 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks football American football teams established in 1925 1925 establishments in Tennessee