NEW YORK — Columbia University Athletics mourns the loss of Director of Football Sport Performance Bob Gilmartin, who passed away on March 9, surrounded by family, after a long battle with illness.
"When I came in as an assistant coach at Columbia in 2015, it was clear from day one that Bob Gilmartin was a person of the highest caliber," Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Jon Poppe said. "A person who invested his entire being into others to show that we can achieve beyond what we can see. We celebrate and honor Coach Gil by attacking our daily endeavors with unconditional commitment."
Gilmartin was a beloved member of the football program since he began at Columbia in 2014. In his role, he served as the head strength and conditioning coach of football, where he touched the lives of thousands of student-athletes. Gilmartin was also instrumental in the transformation of the weight room at the Campbell Sports Center in 2024, and the head strength coach office was dedicated in his name during a ceremony this past fall.
Gilmartin joined Columbia after two years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Greg Schiano. Gilmartin previously spent 11 years with Schiano at Rutgers University, working as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the football team and head strength coach for several other varsity programs.
"Bob left an indelible legacy," stated former Lions' head football coach Al Bagnoli. "He was at Columbia before I arrived, and it was an easy decision to keep him once I did my research and found out the impact he had on people. Bob was as gifted as any guy in his profession that I've been around. He had so much knowledge, had this great ability to motivate and did so many little things that were important to the success of the program. If you talk to any of the student-athletes that worked with him, they'll agree that any success they had, they attribute it to Bob."
Gilmartin is survived by his parents James and Patricia Gilmartin, siblings James Gilmartin, Michael Gilmartin and Susan Belzer, sister-in-laws Terry Gilmartin and Jennifer Gilmartin, brother-in-law Tony Belzer and nieces and nephews Finn, Maeve, Rowan, Anrdrew, Jonathan and Ava.
