Idaho Athletics hired Matt Martin as Associate Athletic Director for Special Projects in mid-June.
Martin’s main focus for now will be helping open the ICCU Arena and fundraising for the project, which is set to open Aug. 2021.
Martin grew up in Lacrosse, Wash., traveling a little under an hour to attend Vandal sports events in the Kibbie Dome. But he feels a different kind of excitement within the Vandal community right now.
“I think there’s a lot of momentum and not just in the athletic department but the entire university,” Martin said. “I certainly think Terry Gawlik, the new athletic director, her leadership is something I’m really excited about. So from the top down there’s just the momentum and excitement and buzz around the entire Vandal brand right now.
Martin had a similar position at the University of South Dakota, where he was Assistant Athletic Director in 2015, when the Coyotes opened a new basketball arena. He also recently served as athletic director for Concordia University for seven months.
“I had just started with getting rolling, really enjoying things and my first foray in the lead chair of an athletic department they announced they were closing the institution at the end of spring,” Martin said.
Martin played football as a student athlete while studying business administration, finance and communication studies at Eastern Washington University. He landed an internship in the athletic department when he returned for a master’s degree in sport and recreation administration. His experiences as a student athlete and intern in the athletic department led him down the path of athletic administration.
Martin took the job at UI because he and his wife, Nikki, wanted to stay in the northwest. The couple had traveled across the country for his jobs and decided they wanted to settle down as they start a family with the birth of their first child, Chandler.
“(The job) seemed like a really good deal for both sides,” Martin said. “We were really fortunate.”
Stevie Carr can be reached at [email protected]