MARTIN, Tenn. – After eight seasons at the helm of the University of Tennessee at Martin rifle program, MJ Vowell has announced her retirement as Skyhawk head coach.
In Vowell’s tenure as head coach (2017-25), she oversaw 16 different student-athletes who combined for 46 All-Ohio Valley Conference or All-Newcomer awards – including the program’s sixth OVC Freshman of the Year (Rachel Sprague) in 2019. She was named the 2020 OVC Coach of the Year and helped mentor two student-athletes to NCAA Championships at-large berths (Joe Martin in 2018 smallbore, Kaitlin Korinek in 2020 air rifle). Her teams have shattered the program record for most aggregate points in the OVC Championship event in each of the last two seasons.
“We are grateful for Coach Vowell’s many years of service to the UT Martin rifle program,” Skyhawk Vice Chancellor & Director of Athletics Kurt McGuffin said. “She and her student-athletes always represented our university and athletic department with the utmost respect and professionalism. We will move forward in a search for a new head coach immediately.”
Outside of the range, UT Martin has extended its OVC Team Sportsmanship Awards record under Vowell as the Skyhawks earned that award four times (2019-20, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25) on her watch. UT Martin’s nine OVC Team Sportsmanship Awards for the sport of rifle are three more than any other OVC program in history of the award.
Vowell’s Skyhawk squads also excelled academically as the program combined for 18 Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association Scholastic All-Americans over the past five seasons. Her 2018-19 team was one of just five NCAA Division I schools (joining Morehead State, Murray State, Nebraska and West Virginia) to nab a NCAA Public Recognition Award for its Academic Progress Rate.
A Louisville, Ky. native, Vowell graduated from UT Martin and was a rifle student-athlete at UT Martin under head coach Bob Beard from 1985-88. She was a member of the school’s 1986 Gulf South Conference championship squad before embarking in a 20-plus year career in the United States Army.
