Bowling Green State University Athletics
Rob Martella: BGSU Hall Of Fame Inductee
September 09, 2002 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 9, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University Athletic Hall of Fame will welcome four new members on Friday evening (Sept. 13). The 2002 class will be inducted during a formal dinner on the BGSU campus.
The class of 2002 will include men's soccer player Rob Martella '94, hockey player Greg Parks, women's basketball coach Fran Voll '68 and track athlete and coach Tom Wright, Ph.D. '66.
The official induction ceremony will take place Friday (Sept. 13) in the grand ballroom of BGSU's new Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The social hour begins at 6:00 p.m. with dinner served at 7:00 p.m. and the program starting shortly thereafter.
In addition, the class will be introduced at halftime of Saturday's (Sept. 14) BGSU-Missouri football game at Doyt Perry Stadium. The game begins at 6:00 p.m. and is designated as Varsity BG & Hall of Fame Night.
Tickets for the Friday (Sept. 13) dinner are $30 and advance reservations are required. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Falcon Club office at (419) 372-7063 before the close of business Thursday (Sept. 12). Football game tickets can be purchased through the ticket office at 1-877-BGSUTICKET or (419) 372-0000.
The following is the first in a series of articles profiling each of the four inductees:
Rob Martella was a four-year letterwinner for the Falcons. He helped the Falcons to a 50-18-8 (.711) record during his four years, including a 31-4-3 (.855) over his final two seasons of 1991 and 1992.
A Cincinnati, Ohio, native, Martella was named an NSCAA First-Team All-American following his senior year, and was selected to participate in the 1992 ISAA Senior Bowl. His totals of 45 goals and 115 points still rank first and second, respectively, on the BGSU career charts.
Martella was the first player in school history to earn NSCAA All-Region status in all four years, and remains the only player in BGSU soccer history to lead the team in scoring in four consecutive seasons.
He was named the team's top rookie in his initial season of 1989, earned co-MVP honors in 1990 and was the team MVP in 1992. A four-time All-MASC (Mid-America Soccer Conference) and All-Ohio First-Team pick, he remained with the Falcons as a volunteer student assistant coach in 1993, before graduating in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in sport management.
Martella was the assistant coach for the women's soccer team at the University of Dayton for the 1995-96 academic year, and played professionally for the Cincinnati Silverbacks of the National Professional Soccer League in 1997-98 and 1998-99.
Martella returned to BGSU as the team's assistant men's soccer coach in 1998, and spent three seasons under head coach Mel Mahler. He left in June of 2001 to become the Director of Soccer Operations for US Youth Soccer.
Martella currently resides in Dallas, Texas.
