A Coach You Probably Have Never Heard Of: Chuck Martin

Later this afternoon most of the nation’s football fans will be clued to CBS Sports to watch coverage of the SEC Championship game in Atlanta that matches two unbeaten teams, Florida and Alabama. At about the same time and nearly a thousand miles away the semi-finals of the Division II Championship will take place on ESPN II where Grand Valley State hosts Carson-Newman.Set in Allendale, Michigan, Grand Valley State is a member of the Great Lakes Conference. Under sixth year head coach Chuck Martin, the GVSU Lakers have been, in a word, incredible. Including this year’s 12-1 record, the Lakers have gone 73-6 under Martin with two national championships during his tenure. They are the winningest D-II program in the country.An All-American free safety while at Millikin University, Martin began his coaching career at Mankato State in 1992. He then had stops at Wittenberg, his alma mater, and  Eastern Michigan. It was then on to GVSU where Martin was the Defensive Coordinator of the 2003 National Championship team. The Lakers that fall led the nation in two defensive categories: rushing defense and turnovers forced.If successful this afternoon, Grand Valley State plays next Saturday for another D-II championship. And that game will also be televised. But the competition this time is only Army vs. Navy.