As Phil Martelli Jr. gets set to take on his new challenge as the new VCU Rams head coach, Phil Martelli Sr. had some strong words for VCU. In a quote that went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, Martelli Sr. called VCU a “blue blood program” while saying the only thing missing is a “national championship.”
This is a very strong endorsement from another one of college basketball’s top coaches. Martelli Sr. is the former head coach of the St. Joseph’s University Red Hawks, where he led the Red Hawks to six regular-season Atlantic 10 championships, three conference tournament championships, and six NCAA Tournament appearances.
Phil Martelli Sr. High on VCU
Martelli Sr. later went on to serve as one of the assistant coaches for the Michigan Wolverines and their former head coach, Juwan Howard. He would fill in for Howard when Howard went on a leave of absence after undergoing heart surgery in September 2023.
On Wednesday, Martelli learned that his son had been hired by Virginia Commonwealth University as their next head coach. Prior to being interviewed in person, he posted an excited message on social media about his son’s latest accomplishment.
Phil Martelli, Father of the new VCU Head Coach, calls VCU a Blue Blood Program
“The only thing missing is a National Championship”
(Via @VCURamNation 🎥)
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) March 27, 2025
“Really proud of and excited for @pmjr10. @VCU_Hoops you got a great one!” Martelli Sr. wrote in an X post that was viewed 47.4K times as of Thursday afternoon. Martelli also added to this with some high praise of VCU.
“He’s (Phil Martelli Jr.) going to get his hands dirty and the staff is going to get their hands dirty, and everyone is going to push like their Bryant, trying to establish themselves. We want to stop messing around. VCU is a blue blood program. The only thing missing is what I said to him this morning, go pursue a National Championship.”
Phil Martelli Jr. expressed his excitement about the opportunity at VCU, saying, “VCU has long been a dream job for me because of the high standards of excellence and national brand. I am excited to help carry on the legacy that has been set here and help elevate it to the next level.”
Martelli Jr. finds himself as the new VCU head coach after two successful seasons with the Bryant Bulldogs, where he led the Bulldogs to a 43-25 record.
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Under his leadership, Bryant captured the America East regular-season and tournament championships, securing their second NCAA Tournament appearance since transitioning to Division I. Martelli Jr. is the 14th VCU head coach in history.
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