The UT Martin Skyhawks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Tennessee at Martin in Martin, Tennessee. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (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. They are coached by Jason Simpson.[2]

UT Martin Skyhawks football
2024 UT Martin Skyhawks football team
First season1925
Head coachJason Simpson
19th season, 115–87 (.569)
StadiumGraham Stadium
(capacity: 7,500)
LocationMartin, Tennessee
NCAA divisionDivision I FCS
ConferenceBig South–OVC
All-time record274–382–6 (.418)
Bowl record1–0 (1.000)
Conference titles6
ColorsNavy blue, orange, and white[1]
     
Websiteutmsports.com

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

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Classifications

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

Conference memberships

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Conference championships

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UT Martin has won six conference championships, four outright and two shared.[3]

Season Conference Coach Overall Record Conference Record
1936 Mississippi Valley Conference W. E. Derryberry 8–0 n/a
1937 6–2–1 n/a
1960 Volunteer State Athletic Conference Bob Carroll 7–3 n/a
1988† Gulf South Conference Don McLeary 11–2 7–1
2006† Ohio Valley Conference Jason Simpson 9–3 6–1
2021 10–3 5–1
2022† 7–4 5–0
2023† Big South–OVC Football Association 8–3 5–1

† denotes co-championship

Playoff appearances

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NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

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The Skyhawks have appeared in the FCS playoffs two times with an overall record of 1–2.

Year Round Opponent Result
2006 First Round Southern Illinois L 30–36
2021 First Round
Second Round
Missouri State
Montana State
W 32–31
L 7–26

NCAA Division II

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

Year Round Opponent Result
1988 First Round
Quarterfinals
Butler
Texas A&I
W 23–6
L 0–34

Notable former players

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Notable alumni include:

Future non-conference opponents

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Announced schedules as of July 22, 2024.[4]

2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
at Oklahoma State at Indiana State Indiana State at Alabama North Alabama at North Alabama
at UTEP at West Virginia at UCF
Southern Illinois at Memphis at Ball State
at Missouri State

References

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  1. ^ "UT Martin Artsheet" (PDF). UTMSports.com. March 10, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  2. ^ "2017 UT Martin Football Media Guide by UT Martin Skyhawk Athletics - Issuu".
  3. ^ "2017 UT Martin Football Media Guide by UT Martin Skyhawk Athletics - Issuu".
  4. ^ "UT Martin Skyhawks Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
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