Phil Martelli Jr. took the reins at VCU on March 26, 2025, becoming the 14th head coach in Rams history. He arrives fresh off a dream year at Bryant, where he guided the Bulldogs to America East regular-season and tournament titles.
Everything is new—the city, players, staff, and expectations. Meanwhile, the move has also come with a personal cost. In a recent interview, Martelli admitted to those challenges and shared that his wife has expressed frustrations over his demanding schedule, making their transition even more complicated.
Phil Martelli Jr. Shares Emotional Impact of Coaching VCU on His Family
While speaking to “The Field Of 68: After Dark,” Martelli Jr. admits that his new role as VCU’s head coach is already impacting his family life. Since taking over the program, he has been handling relocation challenges, building a roster, and navigating expectations at a basketball powerhouse in the Atlantic 10. However, the job demands have made his absence more noticeable at home.
Martelli shared that his wife, Meghan, has felt the strain of his schedule. During a recent visit home for his daughter’s 13th birthday, she told him, “Man, I feel like you’ve been gone for like six months.” But for Martelli, the experience was different.
“I didn’t have the heart to tell her I had felt like I’d been gone for about six minutes. You know, like I felt like I ran down the street to pick up food and was coming back to the house. Just because it was so much,” he added.
His family is still in the process of finding a new home and figuring out schools for their three children, who are at different academic stages. “We have a 15-year-old, a 13-year-old, and a seven-year-old. So they’re all in different stages,” he explained. “One’s in high school, gonna be a 10th grader. One will be in eighth grade. One will be in second grade.” The transition is proving complicated as they work through logistics and adjustments.
Beyond his family life, the newly appointed head coach acknowledges that VCU’s expectations differ significantly. Unlike other programs, he says the team doesn’t discuss goals with an “if” but rather a “when.”
KEEP READING: Phil Martelli Sr. Calls VCU a ‘Blue Blood’ Program: ‘Only Thing Missing Is a National Championship’
“At a lot of places, they talk about, well, if you go to the NCAA tournament, if you win, if you win the championship, right? They use that if. Here, there’s no if,” he said. “There’s just an expectation. There’s like, well, when you win the championship, when you go to the NCAA tournament.”
His new journey with VCU should be filled with excitement, but it is hard to hear that his real adjustment struggle is happening within his family. The emotional toll undoubtedly adds extra pressure to his coaching responsibilities, especially in a program where the community has high expectations. Let’s see how he overcomes these challenges.
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