Middlebury College’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach is stepping down after nearly 30 years.
Jeff Brown, who led the Panthers to 12 NCAA tournament appearances and four NESCAC championships, will retire at the end of the academic year, Erin Quinn, the school’s athletic director, announced late Monday afternoon. Brown, who just wrapped his 28th season as Panthers’ head coach, compiled a 457-248 record.
“Coach Brown has been the architect of a men’s basketball program that competes at the highest level of Division III while bringing some thrilling moments to Pepin Gymnasium over his career,” Quinn said in the news release. “He has also been a committed administrator in the department serving athletics and the College with the grace and humility he brought to the sidelines as a coach.
“While Jeff will be sorely missed as a coach and colleague, we are thrilled for him, Renee, and his family for his next chapter in retirement.”
Hired to lead the program ahead of the 1997-98 year, Brown suffered through five straight losing seasons. He had just two over the next 23 years. Brown’s Middlebury squad claimed its first NESCAC title and made its NCAA tourney debut in the same winter, 2009. Brown then went on to lead the Panthers to an NCAA semifinal appearance in 2011 and quarterfinal bids in 2013 and 2017.
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He was named the NESCAC coach of the year five times and the NABC District top coaching honor twice. In 2023, he earned the prestigious College Basketball Officials Association Sam Schoenfeld Sportsmanship Award. Serving as the NCAA Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee, Brown has overseen the Student-Athletes of Color organization and was a member of the 2021 CoSIDA ChangeMaker Award for his work on the Leaning Into Discomfort series, according to the news release.
“Coaching basketball at Middlebury for the last 28 years has been an amazing experience,” Brown said in the news release. “I appreciate the student-athletes that I have had the opportunity to work with. Middlebury is a special community, and Renee and I look forward to continuing relationships with alumni, colleagues, current student-athletes and parents.”
2017 file:Matt St. Amour’s final act at Middlebury College
Brown is a 1993 inductee of the University of Vermont Hall of Fame. As a Catamount, he graduated in third on the all-time scoring list with 1,336 points in 1982. Brown, also a member of the New England Basketball HOF, still ranks in the top 10 in Catamount history in career steals and assists.
Brown served as an assistant coach at UVM under Tom Brennan for nearly decade before taking over at Bates from 1994-97 prior to his arrival at Middlebury. Brown plans to continue residing in Middlebury, and looks forward to spending time with his family, according to the news release. The school said it will begin a national search for Brown’s successor in the coming weeks.
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