Brian Brown Returns to Mizzou as Assistant Athletic Director
8/5/2016 10:00:00 AM | General, MizzouMade
Former Tiger Staffer to Work with New Mizzou Made Program
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Athletics staff member Brian Brown will return to MU after a 16-year hiatus to become assistant athletic director for the Mizzou Made program, as announced today by the Department of Athletics. The Mizzou Made program, which is in its final stages of development and will be shared soon, is an innovative, strategic program created to support the holistic development of student-athletes and provide a comprehensive and integrated curriculum that includes academic, personal, career and leadership development.
Brown has spent the last 16 years at Drake University, where he has served since 2006 as Director of the world famous Drake Relays, and as an assistant track and field coach since 2000. Beginning in 2010, Brown also added to his plate the title of Associate Athletics Director, as he worked heavily on introducing leadership training and professional development for Bulldog staff and student-athletes.
In his newly-created role at Mizzou, Brown will be responsible for assisting with the curriculum development for the Mizzou Made program. He will also oversee and implement the diversity and inclusivity efforts for all student-athletes and staff and will collaborate with Mizzou's Student-Athlete Working Group on these efforts. In this position, he will have oversight of staff members within the Mizzou Made program.
"Natasha and I are both overjoyed to have this opportunity to come back to Mizzou," said Brown. "We've always considered ourselves part of the Mizzou family, and I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting in the trenches to help impact Mizzou in a positive way. I'm certainly very grateful to the leadership at Mizzou for the faith they have in me being part of their team again. My biggest goal is to be an asset to the department, to student-athletes, to coaches and to the athletic staff, to have the opportunity to engage with them on a real and personal level, and help them continue to build something special, to where anyone looking at Mizzou would be proud of. I want to help student-athletes continue to develop as transformational leaders, and help coaches further shape their championship experience. I'm excited about building a model that other universities will look to follow in the future. This is a tremendous opportunity to shine a bright light on Mizzou and being Mizzou Made."
"I am thrilled to welcome Brian, Natasha and their family back to Missouri," said Associate Athletic Director for Mizzou Made Kim Bishop. "Brian is an extremely talented administrator with a strong educational background who will make an immediate, positive impact on our student-athletes, staff, campus, and community! Without a doubt, he will be an integral asset as we launch our Mizzou Made program and look to enhance the overall experience of Mizzou student-athletes and staff. I am extremely excited about the opportunity to work with Brian and build an exceptional program," she said.
Brown spent seven years at Mizzou in numerous roles, including compliance coordinator (1998-2000), graduate assistant track and field coach (1995-97) and as a graduate assistant for the Total Person Program (1993-95). Brown has two advanced degrees from Mizzou, including a Masters of Public Administration (May, 1995) and a Doctor of Philosophy – Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (May, 2005).
Brown was a world-class high jumper achieving All-American status at Northwestern State University six times, and later was ranked in the US top-10 in the event during a successful professional career. In 1989, Brown was the USA outdoor high jump champion with a leap of 7'7", and the next year won the NCAA Indoor high jump national title for Northwestern State, with a mark of 7'8". He also went on to earn a bronze medal in the 1998 Goodwill Games.
He is married to Natasha (Kaiser) Brown, who was also announced today as the associate head coach for the Mizzou Track and Field program. Natasha competed at Mizzou and was one of the school's most highly-decorated female student-athletes. They are parents of three children, daughter Elle (16 years old), and sons Quinton (14) and Kristian (13).
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