Mobile Sports Hall of Fame member Dr. Peggy Martin is in her first season as the head volleyball coach at Spring Hill, but she is far from being a novice.  Martin is the winningest coach in the history of NCAA Division II after 33 consecutive winning seasons at the University of Central Missouri where she compiled a 1,064-281-8 record.

Martin retired as the Jennies' coach and returned to her hometown of Mobile at the end of the 2008 season, but the opportunity to coach at SHC was too tempting to pass up.

"It really is a fairy tale story," said Martin about her decision to accept the challenge at Spring Hill College.  "I began my athletic life playing in the local CYO leagues in Mobile so this is like completing a circle for me - start here and finish here.  I retired from Central Missouri for family reasons, but also it was just time for me to come home.  When I left, I had no intentions of getting back into coaching, but after my four-month retirement, I began to miss it.

"Growing up in Mobile, Spring Hill College was the coolest place ever," she added.  "It's such a prestigious college and the campus is so beautiful.  When I toured the facilities and looked at the (SHC) Hall of Fame plaques, I saw so many people who were friends of my father and names from my past that it was really overwhelming.  This was not a tough decision.  I'm just humble to be a part of it."

Martin looks at rebuilding Spring Hill volleyball as a new challenge in her life and says, "I'm committed to building the program here on The Hill and I'm excited to have met the women on the team and see their level of commitment, too."

In 2006, she was inducted into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame, making her and her father, Bill Martin, the only father-daughter tandem to appear on the Hall's roll.  She is also a member of the McGill-Toolen Catholic High School Hall of Fame and in 2007 she earned a distinguished alumni award from Indiana University for her accomplishments on the volleyball court as well as her dedication to women's sports in general.

Over 33 seasons at UCMO, Martin never suffered a losing season, won 25 matches in 31 consecutive seasons and won or shared 19 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association titles.  Her teams made a record 25 consecutive NCAA Div. II Tournament appearances, reached the "Elite Eight" six times and finished as the National Runner-up in 1987.  She has won 22 Coach of the Year Awards including the 1987 NCAA Division II National Coach of Year Award.

Spring Hill's Vice-President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students Joe Deighton commented, "We are thrilled to add Peggy Martin's level of experience and professionalism to our volleyball program and to the campus overall.  Her former Athletic Director, Jerry Hughes, advised me, ‘to hire her and stay out of her way,' and I can fully understand that advice as I see her intently setting up the structure for a great program.  Her passion and dedication for the sport and, in particular, the players on the team, is already very evident.  We here at Spring Hill College feel truly blessed that timing, good fortune and perhaps a bit of divine intervention worked in our favor as Peggy has come home to Mobile and home to Badger Volleyball."

Martin first served as softball and volleyball coach at UCMO when she started her Division II career in 1975 and even stepped into an assistant women's basketball coaching role for the 1976-77 season. 

Her first collegiate coaching experience came at Florida Southern College as a volleyball and basketball coach at the then club level program.

Mobile did not have girl's high school sports when Martin was a child, but she played volleyball and basketball and ran track with St. Catherine's High School's CYO teams where she excelled in each.  In college, she played at Indiana University and led the women's basketball team to three consecutive national tournament berths while winning four letters in softball and three letters in field hockey.  She completed her bachelor's degree at IU in 1972 and earned a master's degree from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in 1974.  In 1980, she completed her doctorate in physical education at Indiana University.

As one of the driving forces behind the growth of women's collegiate volleyball over the last 30 years, Martin wrote 101 Volleyball Drills and produced four instructional videos Training the Setter, Competitive Volleyball Drills, The Side Attack, and Training the Libero.