September 12, 2007

NJCU'S BROWN TO RETIRE AS
HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH

25-YEAR GOTHIC KNIGHT HEAD COACH TO STEP DOWN ON SEPTEMBER 30

On September 11, New Jersey City University announced that longtime head men's basketball coach Charles Brown will retire. Brown, who has served at the helm of the Gothic Knight program for the past 25 years, announced that he will retire from the school that he has called home since 1962, effective September 30.

“I felt it was time,” Brown said. “I’ve been doing this for 41 years between high school and college and have been thinking about if for a while. People have been asking me for a while when I was going to retire. I just felt it was time. I feel comfortable with the program and I feel I have done as much as I can do with it. I’m satisfied. I am honored to have had the opportunity to coach here at the University for 25 years.”

Alice De Fazio, Interim Director of Athletics, said: “Charles Brown has represented both the NJCU athletic department and university in a most professional and forthright manner. He served as a role model and mentor to so many, but in my estimation his legacy is reflected more in his qualities as a person rather than a coach. He will be missed.”

He completed his silver anniversary as head coach of the Gothic Knights during the 2006-07 season, and his 483-218 ledger through 25 seasons makes him the winningest men’s or women’s basketball coach in the history of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, both overall and in league play (300-118). He is the second winningest men’s college basketball coach in New Jersey history at the Division I, II, and III levels, just shy of the all-time record of 514. The 2006-07 season was his 41^st overall as a coach between the high school and collegiate levels.

Brown is the winningest coach in Gothic Knight history by more than 350 wins in a category that includes Hall of Fame coaches Larry Schiner (133), Ollie Gelston (126), and Paul Weinstein (115), and has more victories than all three combined (374). His teams have qualified for the post-season in every one of his 25 years as head coach, including 12 NCAA Tournaments and 13 ECAC Tournaments. He has never had a losing season.

Brown guided the Gothic Knights to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 1986 and 1992, losing to the eventual national champion each time in the national semifinal. He has led NJCU to five NJAC Championships (1986, 1990, 1992, 1995, and 2004), adding to NJCU’s conference record of 11 overall titles.

Brown is a 1965 graduate of the University, and received a Masters in Administration/Supervision from the institution in 1985.

“This has been a special program for me,” Brown noted. “This is my alma mater. I am thankful for the opportunity former President Bill Maxwell and former Athletic Director Larry Schiner gave me 25 years ago, and I’m thankful to the current administration— Dr. Carlos Hernández, Dr. Alene Graham, and Dr. John Melendez, who allowed me to come on board full time nine years ago.

“It’s been a great experience, and what I’ve enjoyed most of all has been working with the student athletes I’ve been fortunate enough to coach and befriend. This is a special place, and New Jersey City University will always have a special place in my heart. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to be here all these years. The University has given me an opportunity to get a good education, to be a student athlete, and most of all coach with fine young men.”

The 1986 Kodak Division III National Coach of the Year, Brown is a three-time National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Atlantic District Coach of the Year (1986, 2004, 2007), six-time New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Coach of the Year (1986, 1989, 1990, 1995, 2004, 2007) and three-time Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year (1990, 1992 and 2004).

Brown guided 12 teams to the NCAA Division III Tournament (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2005). When not in the NCAA’s, his clubs reached the ECAC Metro New York/New Jersey tournament on 13 occasions (1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007), winning  five championships (1983, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2006).

An All-Hudson County basketball player at Jersey City’s Lincoln High School, where he graduated in 1960, Brown served the city as a principal in the Jersey City Public School System until his retirement in the summer of 1998, before becoming full time at NJCU. His dedication to education has helped his players at NJCU achieve a graduation rate of more than 65 percent in recent years, a percentage that was closer to 12 percent when he was hired in September 1982.

Prior to taking the reigns of the NJCU basketball program, Brown served as head coach at Lincoln for 16 years between 1966-1981, securing a career record of 231-150 in 381 games at the high school level (.606 winning percentage). Brown, the first African-American high school coach in Hudson County history, guided the Lions to three Hudson County championships (1969, 1974, 1978), and earned Hudson County Coach of the Year honors in those three seasons. Brown also led Lincoln to state sectional championships in 1969, 1973, 1974, and 1978.

A charter member of the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame on October 13, 1979 in men’s basketball, cross-country, and outdoor track & field, Brown received the school's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1992.