DURHAM, N.C. – Director of Athletics
Dr. Ingrid Wicker McCree has announced the hiring of Jody Brown as the new head women's volleyball coach at North Carolina Central University.
"I am excited to have Coach Brown join our NCCU team," said McCree. "Jody brings a wealth of experience and success to our program. He has a diverse resume which adds to his ability to provide our young women with the best academic and athletic experience. His connections in the volleyball community will enable him to continue bringing top student-athletes to NCCU."
Brown joins the NCCU athletics department with 17 years of Division I coaching experience at Florida Atlantic University, where he made three NCAA Tournament appearances. He has 225 career wins to his credit and the Owls posted 10 or more victories in 14 of his 17 years at Florida Atlantic (NCCU has not had a 10-win season since 2007).
"I was out of Division I coaching and quite happy, but I always said if the right opportunity came up I'd like to get back into coaching," said Brown. "One of the things that was really important to me was the AD. Are they supportive of the program and do they want the program to get better. Also important was what shape is the program in. Jen (NCCU assistant volleyball coach
Jennifer Charles) has done a great job as the interim coach in keeping everything moving forward. Those things were really important. I had three or four opportunities to go back into coaching this past season, but it required us to move and I also felt it wasn't the right situation. When NCCU came up it was pretty exciting."
In his time at Florida Atlantic, Brown qualified for 11 postseason tournaments and won three conference championships. He has mentored two All-America honorees, three league players of the year, 33 all-conference selections and 140 academic all-conference student-athletes.
Brown was named Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year in 2005 after leading the Owls to a 29-3 record. Brown, who holds the all-time career coaching wins total at FAU, has been recognized by the AVCA for reaching the 200-career wins milestone mark.
Brown also started the sand volleyball program at Florida Atlantic that competed as an emerging sport in the spring of 2012. He attained immediate success in the sand with his doubles team placing ninth in the nation at the 2012 AVCA National Sand Volleyball Championships.
Florida Atlantic volleyball student-athletes have also succeeded in the classroom under Brown with his squads earning Sun Belt Team Academic All-Conference acclaim; posting FAU's top team GPA in 20 different semesters; and boasting a team GPA over 3.0 for all 17 of his seasons.
When asked about academic success Brown stated, "We are going to make sure our student-athletes are going to be professionals. That degree and that major they are in is really important. We want these young ladies to have great success. We know they are going to be professionals, but not sure if in volleyball, so we need to make sure they have a good professional background when they leave this university."
Most recently, Brown has been working for the Institute of Volleyball Performance (IVP) for the past four years and locally with the NC Volleyball Academy for the last year since leaving Florida Atlantic after the 2011-12 season. Brown was the director of coach and player development, recruiting coordinator and head coach of the 18 Diamond team with the NC Volleyball Academy.
The veteran coach has also owned and operated Jody Brown Volleyball Camps and Clinics since 1984. Brown has hosted camps and clinics nationwide and internationally, and his summer events have attracted an average of 300 to 400 campers each year.
Brown started his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at Graceland University (1985-89) before breaking into the DI ranks as an assistant coach at West Virginia University (1992-95). His coaching experience includes time with the Oceanside Volleyball Club (1995-2000), Australian Junior National Program (1990-91) and USA Volleyball Camps (1984-2003). He also coached the Graceland men's volleyball junior varsity team to a Collegiate Club Division II National Championship.
The Ohio product played four years at Graceland before earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in health, education and recreation in 1989. The co-captain had a strong career for the Yellowjackets, winning numerous awards including all-conference, MVP, best setter and best defense. Brown went on to play club volleyball and for the Australian State Pro Beach Tour and Tasmania State Team in 1990-91.
Brown continued his education at West Virginia, where he earned a Master of Physical Education degree in professional coaching in 1994. Brown resides in Chapel Hill with his wife, Dr. Michelle Brown, and son, Kaja.
Additional Quotes by Jody Brown Discussing the current NCCU volleyball team and its future"I was pretty inspired in looking at the way they have been training and their commitment. I think my short term expectation is to get everybody believing they can win. I think a majority of the athletes on the team right now want to win and they are willing to put in the necessary work. I expect to get these ladies to be better volleyball players first, and from there enhancing them athletically: getting them stronger in the weight room, getting them more dynamic, teaching them how to play together and then turn our focus to winning."
About NCCU athletics"I am just really impressed with Dr. McCree. It looks like all of our programs are on the rise from what I have seen so far and it is great having an AD that is committed to helping the coaches get what they need to achieve that success. It is a nice environment."
