USC Coach and EOC Announce Season 6 of Martin’s Math Club

COLUMBIA, SC, November 9, 2021 - The SC Education Oversight Committee (EOC) today announced the sixth season of “Martin’s Math Club,” a partnership with University of South Carolina Head Men’s Basketball Coach Frank Martin and the University of South Carolina Athletics Department. Martin, a former high school math educator, developed the project, which teaches math through the game of basketball. Now, the project is in its sixth year, teaching math with lessons that are fun to learn and relevant to the daily lives of students.

“This contest is about getting students excited about math and really connecting with the lessons we use to teach it,” Martin said. “By combining math and athletics, teachers have the chance to show their students that math isn’t just something used in the classroom; it’s everywhere.”

The contest provides the opportunity for teachers and students in grades Kindergarten through 8th grade to each win two tickets to a University of SC Men’s Basketball team home game. With assistance from South Carolina math educators, the EOC has published 27 standards-based lessons for K-8th grade that incorporate math and basketball. Each teacher that incorporates at least one of three available lessons in each grade level into their teaching has the chance to win two tickets to a South Carolina home basketball game, as does each student who receives a lesson. Winners will be recognized at each game and may have the chance to meet Coach Martin. Contest details can be found online at www.helpwithmathsc.org/Constest-Rules. 

“The EOC is pleased to partner with Coach Martin and bring Martin’s Math Club back to SC classrooms,” stated EOC Chair Ellen Weaver. “Making math both fun and relevant is so important for students. This program is an exciting way to do that.”

Along with “Martin’s Math Club,” the EOC has published other resources to help families and others support math concepts learned at school. These grade-specific tools can be found online at www.helpwithmathsc.org. Math educators from South Carolina helped develop the content, which guides users to appropriate books, websites, apps, as well as sample activities. Similar content and resources for other subjects can be found online at www.scfriendlystandards.org.

The SC Education Oversight Committee is an independent, non-partisan group made up of 18 educators, business persons, and elected leaders. Created in 1998, the committee is dedicated to reporting facts, measuring change, and promoting progress within South Carolina’s education system.

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