Phil Martelli is Saint Joseph’s all-times wins leader among men’s basketball coaches. New Hawks athletic director Ash Puri would like to help repair the school’s relationship with the former coach. (Photo Greg Carroccio/Sideline Photos)
By AARON BRACY
September 7, 2026
On Aug. 31, in his first Tweet since being introduced as Saint Joseph’s athletic director in May, Ash Puri wished former Hawks head coach Phil Martelli a happy birthday.
Puri quote-Tweeted St. Joe’s official men’s basketball Twitter account, which wrote: “Happy birthday to St. Joe’s legend, Phil Martelli.”
This was not accidental.
Upon landing on Hawk Hill, Puri stated his intention to put his focus on improving facilities, revenue streams, and culture.
As for the culture part, there has been a dark cloud hanging over St. Joe’s for the last seven years as a result of the fractured relationship with Martelli, the school’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach.
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Puri would like to change that.
“He’s basketball royalty in Philadelphia,” Puri told me of Martelli in a recent interview.
“He’s our all-time wins leader,” Puri added. “He matters to St. Joe’s. And I recognize that. I’ve gotten to know him a little bit, and I look forward to getting to know him a little bit more.”
For his part, Martelli appreciated the birthday gesture by Puri and St. Joe’s, quote-Tweeting Puri by saying, “So very kind of you !! Your thoughtfulness means a great deal!!”
This sure seems like a great first step toward a reconciliation.
Who is Ash Puri?
Puri grew up in Central Jersey and became a self-proclaimed huge Atlantic 10 fan as an undergraduate at UMass. He has worked in athletics in both professional and college ranks. In addition to stints with the Jets, Nets, and NBA, he was an athletics administrator at Cal before starting his athletics administration tour of the Big 5 at Villanova in 2019. He left the Main Line in 2023 to become AD at La Salle before his current role at St. Joe’s began this past spring.
Ash Puri and his wife, Nikole, pose for a photo on Hawk Hill after being introduced as Saint Joseph’s new athletic director this past spring. (Photo: St. Joe’s athletics)
Puri’s St. Joe’s Vision
The defining image of Puri at La Salle is him wearing a yellow hard hat and providing video updates of the renovations at Glaser Arena, the beautifully done on-campus arena that replaced Tom Gola Arena and opened for the 2024–25 season. Puri helped steer the transformational project to the finish line while being an enthusiastic cheerleader of it along the way.
Here’s a video interview I did with Puri following the Explorers’ men’s basketball team’s first game at Glaser on Nov. 4, 2024.
While unlikely that Hagan Arena will receive a similar overhaul as what happened at La Salle, you can be sure that Puri is going to look for ways to improve the Hawks’ basketball home court.
“We’re going to focus on making sure that our teams have the best home-court advantage in the conference,” he said.
His focus will be on the fan experience at games, and he plans to watch and learn this season before taking action.
“What I want to do is listen and observe,” he said. “We’ve got to listen to our stakeholders.”
Money Matters
Of course, any changes to Hagan will require money. Money always matters and especially in today’s era of college athletics with Name, Image, and Likeness.
There is no getting around it.
“We need to maximize every revenue stream,” Puri said.
Puri comes to St. Joe’s with much experience on the business side of athletics and will look at all avenues to generate more income at Hawk Hill.
“There’s no silver bullet,” he said. “Ticket sales, philanthropy, corporate partnerships, apparel partnerships, licensing, merchandising, those are the big revenue streams. We’ve got to maximize the opportunities there. We’ve got to find the margins to try to generate revenue from. Of course, be efficient with our resources overall.”
Puri’s impact in this area could be seen quickly with the school’s partnership with Main Line Health, whose patch will be adorned on Hawks jerseys this season. The new athletic director was quick to credit St. Joe’s athletic administrator Eric Laudano and Main Line Health’s Ed Jimenez for their work on the deal. As part of the relationship, Main Line Health will provide comprehensive care, as needed, for Hawks athletes.
“We thought because this was such an all-encompassing partnership, we thought the patch was a natural way to activate the partnership,” he said.
Excitement Abounds
In just a few months on campus, Puri already has taken steps to repair the relationship with Martelli, helped to broker a deal with Main Line Health, and is thinking about ways to improve fans’ experience at basketball games.
It is a good start for someone happy to be where he is.
“I’m just excited to be here,” he said.
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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for nearly three decades for various publications and as a freelancer for the Associated Press. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), can be ordered HERE. His second book, Are You Kidding Me? The Incredible, Inspiring Story of Allen Iverson and the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers (Brookline) is scheduled to be published in February 2027. You can preorder it HERE. Follow Bracy on social media HERE. Contact him at bracymedia@gmail.com.