NEAL BROWN
YEAR-BY-YEAR Year School
Position
Five of Brown’s players were named to All-Big 12 postseason teams, and Colton McKivitz was named the Big 12’s Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year. McKivitz earned spots on two All-American teams - Walter Camp Football Foundation’s Second Team and the Associated Press’ Third Team, and Tykee Smith was named a freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. McKivitz played in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, participated in the NFL Player Combine and was selected in the fifth-round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Keith Washington II played in the East-West Shrine Game, and Rex Sunhara participated in the NFLPA Collegiate All-Star Game. Twenty-two players were named to the Academic All-Big 12 teams and all but one of the 2019 senior class have earned their degrees. He will be finished by the end of the fall semester. Brown, one of six FBS coaches to win 10 or more games in 2016, 2017 and 2018, was named WVU’s 35th head football coach on Jan. 5, 2019. He spent the previous four years as the head coach at Troy University (2015-18), compiling a 35-16 record, including 3-0 in bowl games. In his final three seasons, the Trojans posted a 31-8 record (.795), tying for the highest winning percentage nationally among non-Power 5 schools. Before Brown left after the 2018 season, Troy had won 17 of its last 20 games and 22 of its last 26 games. After directing the Trojans to the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Championship, Brown was honored as the league’s coach of the year. During his highly successful tenure at Troy, Brown’s signature wins included a 24-21 victory in 2017 at then-No. 22 ranked LSU in Baton Rouge, which snapped the Tigers’ 49-game non-conference home winning streak and a 24-19 win at Nebraska on Sept. 15, 2018. Also impressive was his team’s narrow 30-24 loss at eventual 2016 national champion Clemson. In 2018, Troy finished 10-3, including a victory over Buffalo in the Dollar General Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. The Trojans finished 7-1 in conference play and won five of their last six games. The 2017 campaign featured an 11-win season for Troy, including a win over North Texas in the New Orleans Bowl. The Trojans once again finished with a 7-1 conference mark, earning Brown his first conference championship. Troy finished the season with the 27th most votes in the final Amway Coaches Poll, marking the highest final ranking by a Sun Belt Conference squad in league history. Troy faced seven bowl teams and posted a 6-1 mark in those games. Additionally, the Trojans played three conference or conference division champions – Boise State (Mountain West), Akron (MAC/East) and North Texas (C-USA West). Troy finished 10-3 in 2016, including a 6-2 mark in the Sun Belt and a victory over Ohio University in the Dollar General Bowl. The Trojans became the first Sun Belt Conference school to ever open a season with eight wins in its first nine games, and they became the first league school to appear in a major top 25 poll, checking in at No. 25 in the Associated Press’ Nov. 13 poll. Additionally, Brown’s 2016 squad tied for the best turnaround in the country (6 wins). Prior to Brown’s first season at Troy in 2015, he spent two years (201314) as the offensive coordinator under Mark Stoops at Kentucky. Under his direction, he led the Wildcats to some new heights on the offensive side of the football. The Wildcats posted more than 440 yards of total offense in three Southeastern Conference games in 2014, its highest total since 2001. The Wildcats totaled 380 yards or more of total offense in their first three SEC games in 2014 – Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina – marking the first time a UK team had done so since 1998. Kentucky scored 21 offensive touchdowns in SEC play in 2014. The two years prior to Brown being named offensive coordinator, Kentucky had a combined 21 offensive touchdowns in SEC play.
Record
2019 West Virginia Head Coach
5-7
2018 Troy
Head Coach Dollar General Bowl Champions
10-3
2017 Troy
Head Coach Sun Belt Champions Sun Belt Coach of the Year New Orleans Bowl Champions
11-2
2016 Troy
Head Coach 10-3 Dollar General Bowl Champions
2015 Troy
Head Coach
4-8
2014 Kentucky
Assistant Coach (OC/QB)
5-7
2013 Kentucky
Assistant Coach (OC/QB)
2-10
2012 Texas Tech
Assistant Coach (OC/QB) 7-5 Meineke Car Care Bowl Champions
2011 Texas Tech
Assistant Coach (OC/QB)
5-7
2010 Texas Tech
Assistant Coach (OC/QB) TicketCity Bowl Champions
8-5
2009 Troy
Assistant Coach (OC/QB) GMAC Bowl Sun Belt Champions
9-4
2008 Troy
Assistant Coach (OC/QB) New Orleans Bowl Sun Belt Champions
8-5
2007 Troy
Assistant Coach (Inside Receivers) 8-4 Sun Belt Champions
2006 Troy
Assistant Coach (Inside Receivers) 8-5 New Orleans Bowl Champion Sun Belt Champions
2005 Delaware
Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers)
2004 Sacred Heart
Assistant Coach (QB/Wide Receivers) 6-4
6-5
2003 Massachusetts Assistant Coach (TE/OL Assistant) 10-3 NCAA FCS Playoffs Atlantic 10 Conference Champions
Brown’s Record at West Virginia: 5-7 (1 year) Overall Record: 40-23 (5 Years) [
110
]