Office: (937) 327-6454
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Wittenberg Record: 356-98 (1993-present)
Career Record: 416-197 (1982, 1984-88, 1993-present)

Postal Address: Wittenberg University P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501

Package Shipping Address: Wittenberg University 225 Fountain Ave. Springfield, Ohio 45504

Bill Brown, Wittenberg class of 1973, has guided the head men's basketball program at his alma mater since 1993. Brown's time at the helm has seen the continuation of one of the finest collegiate success stories and traditions in all of NCAA athletics. The Tigers program is the country’s most successful Division III program of all time as Wittenberg leads all 430+ DIII basketball programs in both wins and winning percentage.

Tiger teams under Brown's direction over the last 16 years have achieved an overall record of 356-98 for an outstanding .799 winning percentage. Brown ranks first in career victories on the Tigers' all-time coaching list. Including his five years as head coach at Kenyon College and one year as interim head coach at the College of Wooster, Brown's career record stands at 416-197.

During his Wittenberg tenure, the Tigers have captured six North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season championships, four NCAC Tournament titles and made nine NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. Included in the national tournament play are trips to the Final Four in 1994 and 2006.

Brown's first season coaching at Wittenberg was historic as the Tigers established a then-school record for wins (30) and achieved the only unbeaten regular season (25-0) in program history. The Tigers went on to take third place in the NCAA Division III Tournament after losing to eventual national champion Lebanon Valley in the national semifinals.

The 2005-06 season was another banner year in which the Tigers tied the school record for wins (30) on their way to another berth in the NCAA Final Four. After a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Amherst College in the national semifinals, the Tigers lost a heartbreaker in the national championship game. After leading the entire game, Wittenberg was defeated on a last-second three-pointer by Virginia Wesleyan to finish as National Runners Up.

The Tigers made yet another NCAA Division III Tournament Elite Eight appearance in 1995-96 after winning both the NCAC regular season and tournament titles. Wittenberg, which compiled an overall record of 26-5 for the season, was defeated in the Elite Eight game by eventual national runner up, Hope College.

Brown's college coaching resume prior to Wittenberg includes six years as a Division III head coach, an interim year at Wooster (1982-83) followed by five years at Kenyon (1983-88).

At Kenyon, Brown inherited a program of only eight players for the 1983-84 season and the team finished 1-25. Brown quickly built the program up by this third year (1985-86), as the Lords achieved a 13-15 mark and finished as the NCAC Tournament runner-up. Brown was voted the NCAC Coach of the Year that season in recognition of his team's efforts. In his final year (1987-88), Kenyon went 14-13, the program's first winning season in 12 years. The Lords lost in the NCAC semifinals that year, 101-94, to eventual national champion Ohio Wesleyan.

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 asked Brown to join his coaching staff. After four years as an assistant at Ohio, 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 (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 and a member of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.

Brown is 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, 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.

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