Photo by: Adam Hammerman
In 2001, Matt Brown walked onto the DU campus for his freshman season on the Pioneer lacrosse team. Six years later, following a successful playing career, he returned to campus as an assistant coach to be a part of the Denver men’s lacrosse program that developed him as a player. Fast forward to today, and Brown is the associate head coach for the Pioneers, serving as head coach Bill Tierney’s right-hand man.
“I love DU; I consider it home and I just wanted to be a part of it again,” said Brown. “I had an opportunity to join the staff in 2007, and I’ve been here ever since.”
As the associate head coach, Brown serves as the offensive coordinator for the Pioneers and assists in recruiting and scheduling. After growing up in British Columbia, he is able to recruit heavily from Canada, and his efforts have shown in the large number of Canadian student athletes on the roster, including senior attackman Mark Matthews, junior midfielder Cameron Flint, sophomore midfielder Jeremy Noble and freshman Wes Berg..
“He does everything he can for us, on and off the field,” said Matthews. “Every day, he is helping us. Personally, since I’ve been here, he’s helped me get this international thing figured out and really showed me the ropes with school.”
Brown’s impacts on the Pioneer offense are evident in the national rankings, as Denver concludes the 2012 season, boasting the sixth-best scoring offense and the sixth-best assists per game average in the nation and averaging 12.31 goals and 7.69 assists per game. Denver sits at No. 5 in both face-off win percentage (.592) and shot percentage (.335), as well as finishing No. 7 in points per game (20).
“Matt Brown always has our offense ready,” said Tierney. “There’s no better mind in the game out there. He always touts that we need to play unselfishly, that we need to look for the best shot, not the first shot.”
Prior to his coaching career, Brown started all four seasons for Denver, leading his team to tie for two conference titles in 2003 and 2005. He became the all-time program’s Division I leader for goals and points, holding both records until Matthews topped him in points last year and goals this year.
Brown said he chose to play at Denver for a number of reasons, including its close proximity to his hometown of Burnaby, British Columbia, but, ultimately, he said the people were what made the difference.
“The people were unbelievable, from the student athletes to the coaches to the administrators – everybody here was amazing,” said Brown. “They showed that they cared, and they showed real interest in my family. I though it would be the right fit, and I definitely chose the right place.”
Upon his graduation in 2005, Brown was drafted fifth overall by the Arizona Sting of the National Lacrosse League. Brown played one season with the Sting, accumulating 40 points after playing in all 18 of their games before moving back to Colorado. He was hired in 2007 by then-head coach Jamie Munro, who had been Brown’s coach during his time at Denver.
“It was great because I played for Coach Munro, and I coached with Coach Munro, so for me, it was all I really knew about field lacrosse,” said Brown. “When Coach Tierney got the job here, I was very excited for our program to take that next step to continue to get better and get to where we are today. Being able to stay on with him, I have learned so much about how to manage a program.”
Brown is the sole member of the current coaching staff to have worked under both Munro and Tierney, as Tierney asked him to stay on, when he accepted the head coaching job in July 2009.
“He loved DU so much he decided to stay here,” said Tierney. “He has a passion for DU like no one I’ve ever met. He’s the best young offensive coordinator in the game in Division I. He’s just ahead of the game.”
Brown has been around lacrosse for most of his life, having grown up playing box lacrosse in Burnaby. As a member of the Burnaby junior Lakers, Brown attended six consecutive Minto Cups between 1999 and 2004, which are the Canadian national championships for players under 21.
Brown also played for the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse from 2006 to 2010 as an attackman, compiling 138 goals and 20 assists in 56 career games, which ranks him 2nd in franchise history in goals scored. Ultimately, however, Brown decided to dedicate himself to the Pioneer community.
Looking forward, Brown remains ambitious about the future of Pioneer lacrosse and said he is excited about what the team will accomplish in the future.
“I think our ultimate goal here – my personal goal and really the goal of everyone – is to win a national championship here at DU,” said Brown. “We’ve made great strides in our short career in Division I, and we’re getting there. On a bigger scale, [I want to help in] creating a culture of excellence here. We want people to come here who are obviously great lacrosse players, but most importantly great people – great students and great citizens. That’s what DU is all about.”
Outside of DU, Brown also serves as the coach of the Canadian U-19 national team and will travel to Finland this summer to coach his team in the world championships.
