Women's Cross Country 6/12/2018 11:37:00 AM Chris Brannick

J.D. Martin Announces Retirement

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma athletics department and head cross country coach J.D. Martin announced Tuesday that Martin will retire from his post effective June 30 following a 14-year stint with the Bronchos. Martin has coached cross country and track & field for 47 of the past 54 years.

"I feel very fortunate to have done this for so long," Martin said. "I think UCO is a great school and I've really enjoyed my time here. It's a first-rate school and a great place to work. But it's time for me to go. I can't say enough about how great the opportunity I've had has been. To be able to do this for so long, it's hard to put into words just what that means."

"I just want to say thank you to coach Martin for everything he has done for this university," UCO Athletic Director Eddie Griffin said. "J.D. is such a great person and to have someone like him in your department is a plus. You couldn't ask for a better person and coach to be leading our student-athletes. We're happy for him and we wish him the best for his retirement."

Martin was hired by Central Oklahoma in 2004 to take charge of a cross country program that had just been brought back to the university the year before. His intentions then were to help the Bronchos get the program established, maybe work a couple of years at Central, and then return to his retirement hobbies of hunting, fishing, and golfing.

Martin retired from the University of Oklahoma, his alma mater, after 33 years (1964-97) of coaching both cross country and track & field. He enjoyed retirement for seven years before a golf outing with former UCO athletic director Bill Farley led to his return to the ranks.

"I said I'd help them get things going and maybe stay on for a couple of years," Martin said.

He led the Bronchos to a runner-up conference finish that first season and earned coach of the year honors in doing so. He wasn't going to stay for just a couple of years.

"I was enjoying coaching and enjoying being around the kids," Martin said. "UCO is such a good place to be and the only thing I had to do was coach the girl's cross country team. It was a great fit and I really enjoyed it. I knew I was here to stay."

The group that will go down as Martin's last team recently presented their coach with a book. The title … Coach Martin. The cover photo was a picture of coach taking a picture. Every page of the book, nearly 50 pages, was filled with photos taken by Martin over the past 14 seasons.

That's what he did. He not only coached and trained and guided and mentored the racing Bronchos for the past 14 seasons, he was also the team photographer.

"I've been enjoying that hobby since high school," Martin said. "I've got just a ton of old photos and scrapbooks with so many pictures. It was really special to me that they put that together. I can't say enough about these kids. They're so great to be around – so much fun to be around.

"I'm going to miss that so much. I kind of do already. But there is never a chance to have a clean break. There are always going to be new kids that you get attached to. At some point you just have to walk away. That point is now."

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