Robin Martin-Davis breaks barriers as men’s basketball coach
SWANNANOA, N.C. (BVM) – Throughout her life, Robin Martin-Davis was told two things by her mother: “Be the change in the world you want to see” and “prove them wrong.” The women’s basketball head coach for Warren Wilson College took those messages to heart, but when it came to her most recent role she never expected it to change the world. However, that’s exactly what she has done.
In January, Martin-Davis was named the interim men’s basketball head coach at the Division III institution alongside her role as women’s basketball coach due to the previous coach leaving the school. With this, Martin-Davis became the first known female head coach to helm a D-III men’s basketball team and one of the few to be the head coach of a men’s team at any level of college athletics.
“There was an employee change made which left a vacancy in our men’s basketball position and it’s hard to hire mid-season,” Martin-Davis, who doubles as the school’s athletic director, explained. “I had the most basketball experience and felt I was the most qualified to take it over to get through the finish line so that’s kind of how it happened.”
In her role, Martin-Davis joined an elite few women who have ever coached men in collegiate basketball including former University of Kentucky assistant coach Bernadette Mattox and Mesabi Range College head coach Tamara Moore. According to the NCAA Demographics Database, there were zero women head men’s basketball coaches across all three divisions in 2022 and only 15 female assistant coaches for men’s teams. Martin-Davis understood the significance of her taking over this role not only for herself but for her female student-athletes, fellow female basketball coaches and her daughter.
“For me, I look at my daughter and I look at my players and just the joy that they see and the pride for me is everything,” Martin-Davis said. “I’m proving to them that you can do anything. No matter what your gender is, what it looks like, you can always change history and change the direction of the future. For me, that’s something I always look at.”
Not only did Martin-Davis accept the role, but she also did well in it. When she took over in January, the Owls were just 1-12. Warren Wilson went 6-8 down the stretch under Martin-Davis’ leadership, a vast improvement from earlier in the campaign. One of these wins included her men’s coaching debut when the Owls won 84-69 on Jan. 17, marking the first win by a female head coach in D-III men’s basketball history.
“It didn’t cross my mind, I saw it on Twitter and then it became a frenzy,” Martin-Davis said. “I shared it because I thought it was cool. The coolest part was my women’s players actually saw the tweet and they were excited to celebrate that because in their words ‘we’re witnessing history right in front of us, our coach is role modeling change’ so I think for me that was the most exciting piece because they were more excited than I was.”
Today #d3hoops provisional @wwcmbb defeated @MUWHoops 113-86, led by AD and WBB coach, Robin Martin, stepping in to be (we think) the first woman to coach (and win) a d3 men's basketball game. Also, both teams are the Owls.
— Ryan Scott (@RyanAlanScott) January 22, 2023
Of course, even with her new position as the men’s basketball coach, Martin-Davis still had responsibilities for her women’s team. Despite the increased workload, she kept the women competitive, using the two teams to build an even stronger sense of community.
“Whatever I was providing for the women’s team, the men were getting the same opportunity,” Martin-Davis said. “We did a lot of dinners together that beginning of January because we got back from winter break early and it was neat to start to build that camaraderie between both programs. That was something we didn’t necessarily have, not for any particular reason there’s always that natural separation, but here we were forced to be together because there was one doing both and I think that created more of a bigger family environment.”
Although she has left her mark on the Owls men’s basketball program forever, Martin-Davis is expected to return strictly to the women’s sideline next season.
“We have the men’s job posted and are currently working through applicants,” Martin-Davis said. “Right now, I will not be coaching them next year and I will just return back to the women’s team and athletic director.”
While her time with the men’s basketball program has likely come to a close, Martin-Davis hopes that her experience has opened up some conversations in basketball about female coaches.
“It takes just one person to kind of rock the boat and to have a good experience,” Martin-Davis said. “We’re making progress but we just have to really continue to not count ourselves out because it’s not being done.
“I didn’t walk into this position like, ‘Nobody else is coaching men so I can’t coach them’ I never even thought that. I thought ‘I was the most qualified, I’m the only option we’ve got, I’m going to coach them.’ That was my mindset and I think if we view more things with that mindset like ‘I’m just as qualified to do this position whether I’m the first or the last.’ It changes the game. My hope is that more women will be encouraged to try the other side or to take a step and put their application in. That’s my hope.”
Even though Martin-Davis will head into the next basketball season back with the women’s basketball team, she has changed the world as the only female head coach of a D-III men’s basketball team. Hopefully, this one small change will be the first of what could be a monumental change within the sport in the near future.
