Ashley Martin (born c. 1981) is an American athlete who became the first woman to play and score in an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

game, and one of the first ever to score points in any

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

game. She accomplished this feat August 30, 2001, as a

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

for the

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree, master's, educati ...

Gamecocks A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

, where she also played on the women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team. Martin played at

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

(now known as the

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

). The only earlier female player to score in a college football game was

Liz Heaston Elizabeth Heaston Thompson (born 1977) is an American athlete who is the first woman ever to score in a college football game. She accomplished this feat on October 18, 1997 as a placekicker for the Willamette Bearcats football team of Willamette ...

, who kicked for

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

, a

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) school, in 1997.

Life

Martin had previously served as placekicker on the

East Coweta High School East Coweta High School (ECHS) is a public high school located in Coweta County, Georgia, United States. It serves about 3,300 students in grades 9 to 12 in the Coweta County School System. It is the second oldest high school in the county. Hist ...

football team in

Sharpsburg, Georgia Sharpsburg (ˈʃɑrpsbɝg) is a town in Coweta County, Georgia, Coweta County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 341 at the 2010 census. History The Georgia General Assemb ...

. She was voted

homecoming queen Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

at her high school, and accepted her crown while wearing her football uniform. After high school, she enrolled at

, where she played for the

Jacksonville State Gamecocks The Jacksonville State Gamecocks are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Jacksonville State University (JSU) located in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. The Gamecocks athletic program is a member of the ASUN Conference, which it rejoined ...

women's soccer team. In 2001, she joined the Jacksonville State football team as a backup

. She became the first woman to play and score points on August 30, 2001, when she kicked an

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

in the first quarter of a game against

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

. She would go on to make two more successful extra point attempts in the game, which resulted in a 72–10 Jacksonville State victory. As of 2003, Martin was one of three female players to have scored points in

had previously kicked two extra points for NAIA

on October 18, 1997, in a game against Linfield College.S P O R T S J O N E S

Katie Hnida Katharine Anne Hnida (; born May 17, 1981) is a former American football player who became the first woman to score in an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I-A game, college football's highest level. She accomplished this as ...

later scored two points for the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

on August 30, 2003, to become the first female to play and score in an NCAA

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(now known as Football Bowl Subdivision) football game, college football's highest level.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Ashley 1980s births Living people American football placekickers Jacksonville State Gamecocks football players Female players of American football People from Coweta County, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area

Life

See also

References