Director of Athletics Head Men’s Basketball Coach
B.A., University of the South; M.A., Winthrop University
Profile
Mark Peeler is in his 24th year as the leader of the Flying Fleet Athletics program, and his 28th on staff at Erskine College. Along with being the Director of Athletics, Peeler has served as the men’s basketball coach for twenty-two years, the women’s basketball coach for three years, and two stints as the Fleet’s Cross Country Coach. Peeler came to Erskine in 1999 after serving for three years at St. Andrews College (NC) as the Director of Athletics/Men’s Basketball Coach.
Peeler has directed an incredible transformation of the Flying Fleet athletics program. Erskine has increased the number of student-athletes since 2000 by 80% and seen record-breaking fundraising totals. The Fleet participated in 10 intercollegiate NCAA Division II sports in 2004 but compete in 24 programs in 2025-2025 with the addition of Women’s Flag Football this year. Erskine athletics teams have seen unprecedented success in NCAA Division II under Peeler’s watch. Erskine has won 29 Conference Carolinas championships (along with multiple individual championships), participated in 31 NCAA Division II Southeast Regionals, and won two NCCAA National Championships.
Peeler, the architect of “The Fleet Way,” brought back a piece of Erskine history with the announcement in August of 2018 that the college would reinstate football in 2020. The college last played football in 1951 before playing its first game in the spring of 2021 against Barton College in Wilson, NC. Erskine will begin play in the inaugural season for Conference Carolinas Football in 2025-2026.
Peeler served on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee as a representative of Division II from 2012-2016. He served as a member of the NCAA Division II National Men’s Basketball Committee in 2008-2012 and was chair of the Southeast Region. Peeler is a former member of the Abbeville County School Board of Directors. He spent eleven years on the Lakelands FCA Board of Directors. Peeler also serves each year as an adjunct faculty member at Erskine teaching courses in Health And Wellness and a variety of Sport Management leadership courses. Peeler currently serves Conference Carolinas as the Chair of the Director of Athletics Committee from 2026-2028.
Concerning basketball, Peeler coached the men’s team from 1999-2018 winning over 200 games and building a reputation for defensive minded squads. Peeler’s squad’s consistently ranked near the top of all Conference Carolinas defensive categories. Peeler stepped away from coaching in 2018 to assume Vice-President for Athletic duties. He returned to the bench in 2023-24 taking back over a program that went 0-28 in 2022-23 and 3-25 in 2021-22. In two short years, the Fleet returned to double digit wins and picked up a Conference Carolinas Tournament win against Lees-McRae, 88-85 in the opening round in 2025. Peeler’s 2025 team ranked third in NCAA Division II in 3-point field goal attempts and 3-point makes per game.
Peeler was awarded Scotland County (NC) “Volunteer of the Year” in 1998 and received a Governor’s Award (NC) for Service in 1999. Peeler has directed Erskine largest summer program the past twenty-five years, the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). Peeler was honored twice with a Paul Harris Fellows from the rotary for his service to the RYLA program which services the youth of Rotary District 7150.
Education
Mark Peeler is a graduate of the University of the South (Sewanee) where he received a B.A. in Political Science. Peeler played four years on the Sewanee basketball and golf teams. Peeler became the school’s all-time assists leader in basketball while leading the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in assists during his final three seasons. He earned his master’s degree from Winthrop University in 1994 while he served as an assistant coach for the Eagles.
Personal Profile
Peeler resides in Due West and has four children and one grandchild.
