In his 15 seasons as head coach, Bill Brown has continued to enhance the rich history of the California University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball program.
During his time with the Vulcans, Brown has amassed a record of 289-121 to become the winningest coach in program history. He has guided Cal U to eight 20-win seasons with the Vulcans qualifying for the PSAC Tournament in 10 out of 14 seasons and advancing to the ‘State Game’ four times, winning it twice (1999, 2008).
The 2007-08 campaign offered Brown and his staff one of the more challenging tasks of his Cal U tenure. Featuring four new starters, the Vulcans registered a 28-6 overall record, won their first PSAC Championship since 1999 and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 1996. The 28 wins are also the second-most in school history.
Brown has been named the PSAC West Coach of the Year in two of the last four seasons and five times during his 14-year tenure.
Prior to his time at Cal U, Brown served as head coach at Division III Kenyon College for eight seasons. Under his direction, the Lords qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament in back-to-back seasons after posting 20-plus wins in 1993-94 and 1994-95. In 1993-94, Kenyon won its conference championship tournament and earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament before finishing the year with a 24-4 record.
Brown started his head-coaching career at Sacramento State University and coached the Hornets for two seasons during the program’s transition to NCAA Division I. He followed his time at Sacramento State with a season as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee under Don DeVoe.
A native of Ohio, Brown started his coaching career at Ohio University after a successful playing career for the Bobcats. As a player, he was a three-year starter and two-time, all-conference selection for the Bobcats, who won a pair of Mid-American Conference (MAC) titles and played in two NCAA Tournaments during his playing career.
After four seasons at Ohio as a coach, Brown served a one-year stint as an assistant at Kent State University before accepting the top assistant position with legendary coach Eddie Sutton at the University of Arkansas. His duties included serving as recruiting coordinator, assisting with on-the-floor coaching, academic counseling, scouting and directing the Razorback Basketball Camp.
In each of Brown’s five years with the program, Arkansas made NCAA Tournament appearances, won two Southwest Conference Championships, and remained in the Top 20 rankings. In 1984 and 1985, Brown was rated as one of the top five assistant coaches and recruiters in the nation by the Basketball Times.
Brown was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Regional Coach of the Year in both 2007 and 2008, and was selected to serve as head coach in the senior all-star game at the 2007 NCAA Division II Championship Weekend in Springfield, Mass.
Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Brown has served in every facet of the game of basketball as a player, a coach and an administrator. Brown earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1974 from Ohio with concentrations in English, Sociology and Social Work.
He and his wife Christy reside in California and have two grown children, Aaron and Kerra, and four grandchildren, Jalen, Elijah, Kingston and Aubrey.
BROWN YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING RECORD
| Year |
Overall
Record |
Win Pct. |
Conference
Record |
Post-Season |
| 1996-97 |
17-11 |
.607 |
7-5 |
PSAC Tournament |
| 1997-98 |
23-5 |
.821 |
10-2 |
PSAC Tournament
NCAA Tournament |
| 1998-99 |
24-6 |
.800 |
11-1 |
PSAC Tournament
NCAA Tournament |
| 1999-2000 |
23-7 |
.767 |
10-2 |
PSAC Tournament |
| 2000-01 |
17-9 |
.654 |
6-6 |
|
| 2001-02 |
23-6 |
.793 |
9-3 |
PSAC Tournament |
| 2002-03 |
25-9 |
.735 |
10-2 |
PSAC Tournament
NCAA Tournament |
| 2003-04 |
23-7 |
.767 |
11-1 |
PSAC Tournament
NCAA Tournament |
| 2004-05 |
14-13 |
.519 |
4-8 |
|
| 2005-06 |
17-11 |
.607 |
7-5 |
PSAC Tournament |
| 2006-07 |
24-7 |
.774 |
10-2 |
PSAC Tournament
NCAA Tournament |
| 2007-08 |
28-6 |
.824 |
11-1 |
PSAC Tournament
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2008-09 |
13-13 |
.500 |
6-8 |
|
| 2009-10 |
18-11 |
.621 |
6-8 |
|
| TOTALS |
289-121 |
.699 |
118-54 (.686) |
|
