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Wittenberg Record: 343-85 (1993-present)
Career Record: 403-184 (1982, 1984-88, 1993-present)
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Postal Address: Wittenberg University P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501 |
Package Shipping Address: Wittenberg University 225 Fountain Ave. Springfield, Ohio 45504 |
Bill Brown took the reins as the head men's basketball coach at his alma mater prior to the 1993-94 season, and he has overseen the continuation of one of the greatest collegiate success stories and traditions in all of NCAA athletics.
Since taking over the team, the Tigers have achieved an overall record of 343-85 for an outstanding winning percentage of .801. After winning the first game of the 2006-07 season, Brown surpassed longtime coach and personal mentor Larry Hunter in career victories to take first place on the university's all-time coaches' victories list. Under Brown's direction, Wittenberg has captured six North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season championships, four NCAC Tournament titles and made nine NCAA Division III national tournament appearances. Including four years at Kenyon and one at Wooster, Brown's career record stands at 403-184 after he surpassed the 400-win plateau on Feb. 2, 2008.
Brown's first season at Wittenberg was historic as the Tigers established a school record for wins (30) and achieved the first and only unbeaten regular season (25-0) in program history. The Tigers went on to take third place in the NCAA Division III national tournament after losing in the national semifinals to eventual champion Lebanon Valley College (Pa.).
The 1995-96 season was another banner year as the Tigers won both the NCAC regular season and tournament titles on their way to a 26-5 overall mark and an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals, where they lost to another eventual national runner-up Hope College. Since then, the Tigers have won at least 16 games every year, and since 2000 have made five national tournament appearances in eight seasons, culminating in a 2006 national runner-up finish. Wittenberg compiled a 30-4 overall record in the 2005-06 season, and after winning the NCAC Tournament championship for a second straight year, the Tigers ran through five games in the NCAA Division III Tournament before falling on a last-second three-pointer in the title game.
Brown's college coaching resume prior to Wittenberg includes six years as a Division III head coach, an interim year at Wooster College (1982-83) followed by five years at Kenyon College (1983-88).
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After resigning as head coach at Kenyon, Brown enrolled in a doctoral program at Indiana University, where he observed Hall of Fame Head Coach Bob Knight's practices on a daily basis. During the spring of that year (1989), long-time Wittenberg head coach and Athletic Hall of Honor member Larry Hunter was named head coach at Ohio University and immediately asked Brown to join his coaching staff. Four years later the Wittenberg head coaching position was vacated by Dan Hipsher and Brown was hired as the Tigers' mentor.
Brown's coaching career also included assistant coaching positions at Ohio University (1989-93), Wooster College (1981-82), Muskingum College (1977-81) and Miami of Ohio (1976-77). At Muskingum College Brown coached under Jim Burson, a past president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Brown is himself a product of the Wittenberg basketball tradition. He was recruited to Wittenberg by then-coach Eldon Miller from nearby West Liberty-Salem High School from which two previous Tigers' all-time greats, brothers Al and Jim Thrasher, had also graduated. Brown played one year under Miller and one year under Bob Hamilton before becoming a student assistant coach with Hamilton for his junior and senior years.
Brown and his wife, Kay, a registered nurse, reside in Springfield and have two teenage sons, Chris and Tom.
Men's Basketball Coaching Staff
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