University of North Texas Athletics
Staff Directory
Neal Brown
- Title:
- Head Coach
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Neal Brown was named the 21st head coach in UNT Football history on Dec. 2, 2025.
Brown joins the Mean Green as one of the most respected offensive minds in the country, with 10 seasons of experience as a head coach at the FBS level and nearly 25 years of collegiate coaching experience.
Across 10 seasons as a head coach at both Troy and West Virginia, Brown compiled a 72-51 overall record with seven bowl appearances, five bowl victories, three 10+ win seasons and the 2017 Sun Belt Conference title. He was also the 2017 Sun Belt Coach of the Year at Troy.
In six seasons as the head coach at West Virginia, Brown posted a 37-35 overall record and helped the Mountaineers earn four bowl berths. The 2023 season saw Brown coach WVU to a 9-4 overall record, the most single season wins for the program since 2016, and a final ranking of No. 25 overall in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
From 2015-18 as the head coach at Troy, Brown coached the Trojans to a 35-16 overall record including a remarkable 31-8 mark from 2016-18. In that span, Brown’s .794 winning percentage was the third highest in FBS, trailing only Alabama’s Nick Saban and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney who each won National Championships during that stretch. He was also one of just six coaches to win 10+ games in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
In his head coaching career, Brown has coached seven NFL Draft Picks and 24 total players in the NFL.
With Brown at the helm, the Mountaineers had six players named First Team All-Americans including Wyatt Milum (2024), Beanie Bishop Jr. (2023) and Darius Stills (2020) who were all consensus All-Americans. It was the first time since 2002-06 that WVU had three or more consensus All-America selections in a five-year span.
In addition, Brown’s tenure saw West Virginia players rake in a total of 51 All-America honors. In the classroom, the Mountaineers had two National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar Athletes and three CSC Academic All-Americans while having a 90+% Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for three consecutive years for the first time in program history, including a program-best 94% GSR in 2023 and 2024.
In 2025, Brown was the Special Assistant to Head Coach Steve Sarkisian at the University of Texas. Brown helped the Longhorns knock off three AP Top 10 opponents, the only FBS team in the country to do so.
The 2024 season saw West Virginia win at least six for the fourth time in five seasons with a 6-6 record in the regular season to earn a berth in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl. WVU finished the season 3-1 in one-score games and three of their six losses with Brown as the head coach came against AP Top 25 opponents.
Brown coached OL Wyatt Milum to a prolific season, helping him become just the 14th consensus All-American in the history of WVU football.
In 2023, West Virginia was picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll by the league media. However, Brown, his coaching staff and the entire program used that selection as the motivation needed to generate the best year of Mountaineer football since 2018, registering a 9-4 overall record, including a 30-10 win over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, a 6-3 mark in the league, and a No. 25 final ranking in the AFCA Final Coaches Poll.
Brown faced arguably the toughest schedule in his tenure. He earned Co-Big 12 Coach of the Year honors by Heartland College Sports. The conference finish tied the Mountaineers for fourth place – 10 spots better than originally predicted. Since becoming a member of the Big 12 Conference in 2012, WVU had only one better season, 2016, when it won seven league games.
The Mountaineers had one of the best offenses in the nation, producing the best rushing mark in Power Five football, averaging 228.9 yards per game and scoring a league-tying best 32 rushing touchdowns. WVU was the only school in the league to finish with more than 2,000 rushing yards in conference games (2,211). West Virginia currently leads the nation with 16 straight games of producing more than 140 rushing yards, three more than the next team on the list.
West Virginia gave up a league-low 10 sacks for the season, including only three in league games, ranking No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 2 among Power Five schools. That included 450 yards or more of total offense in seven games and producing 500 or more yards five times. WVU scored 30 or more points in seven of its last eight games. The defense, meanwhile, was No. 1 in the Big 12 in sacks (33) and No. 2 in tackles for loss (84).
In 2022, the Mountaineers won two of the final three games, including victories against Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State. The win over Oklahoma marked the first Big 12 Conference win over the Sooners, and the win over the Cowboys was the first since 2014 and snapped the Cowboys’ 14-game, home winning streak. WVU also defeated 2021 Big 12 Champion Baylor and rival Virginia Tech to hold on to the Black Diamond Trophy.
The 2021 squad finished with six wins and had its share of positives, including earning a bowl bid to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, its second in a row under Brown. Running back Leddie Brown rushed for 1,000 yards for the second year in a row, and WVU was fourth in the Big 12 in average passing yards per game (247.9). The Mountaineer defense finished No. 5 nationally in red-zone defense, No. 18 in the fewest first downs allowed and No. 29 in third-down defense.
The Mountaineers defeated No. 15 Virginia Tech, marking the highest-ranked win of the Brown era and also defeated No. 22 Iowa State.
West Virginia had a program-best 24 student-athletes named to the Academic All-Big 12 Teams, safety Sean Mahone was a finalist for the William Campbell Trophy, the academic Heisman, and he earned a spot on the National Football Foundation’s Scholar-Athlete Team. Kicker Casey Legg was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza National Kicking Award and WVU had nine players named to one of three postseason Big 12 all-conference teams by media organizations.
Frazier was named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation and American Football Coaches Association’s All-America teams, and Milum was named to three freshman All-America teams. Defensive lineman Dante Stills was named an All-Big 12 First Team honoree, and Frazier was on the second team.
The 2020 season while dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, Brown led the Mountaineers to a 6-4 overall over and 4-4 in the Big 12. Brown made his first bowl appearance as the coach of West Virginia against Army in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, winning the game, 24-21.
Five players earned All-America honors, led by Darius Stills, who was the school’s first Consensus All-American since 2006 and 12th in school history. Tony Fields II, Tykee Smith and Dante Stills were named to at least one All-America team, and freshmen Zach Frazier and Akheem Mesidor were named to Freshman All-America teams. In April, Fields was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, while five players signed free-agent contracts.
The Mountaineers finished the 2019 season with a 5-7 mark. WVU finished the regular season winning two of the final three games, at Kansas State and at TCU, and had a 3-3 mark on the road, including a 3-2 road record in the Big 12 Conference.
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-America 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 and was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
Prior to his time at WVU, Brown spent four seasons 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.
In the final two seasons of the Brown era, Troy 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 LSU in Baton Rouge, which snapped the Tigers’ 49-game non-conference home winning streak, and a 24-19 win at Nebraska. Also impressive was his team’s 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 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 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 (six wins).
Prior to Brown’s first season at Troy in 2015, he spent two years (2013-14) 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 conference play.
He also spent three years at Texas Tech (2010-12) as the offensive coordinator after his first stint at Troy as an assistant coach from 2006-09.
As Texas Tech’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the Red Raiders ranked in the nation’s top seven teams in passing offense, top 15 in total offense and top 25 in scoring offense, having increased production in all three categories each year since 2010. TTU finished the 2012 season second nationally in passing with 355.9 yards per game, 13th in total offense at 495.4 yards per game and 20th in scoring with 37.5 points per game.
The 2012 campaign was an expansion of the success from 2011, when Texas Tech ranked 13th nationally in total offense at 470.6 yards per game. The Red Raiders lit the scoreboard at a tune of 33.8 points per contest. In his first season in Lubbock, Brown’s offense notched 460.2 yards of total offense per game, including 318.9 passing, and scored at a 33.1-point clip as Tech went 8-5 and won the TicketCity Bowl.
At Troy, Brown was the inside receivers coach the first two years (2006-07) with the Trojans before transitioning to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2008-09. Troy won four Sun Belt Conference titles and appeared in three bowl games during Brown’s initial tenure.
He began his coaching career with one-year stints at UMass (2003), Sacred Heart (2004) and Delaware (2005).
At Delaware, Brown served as wide receivers coach. Starting three freshman wideouts, the Blue Hens went 6-5.
In 2004, Brown coached the quarterbacks and wide receivers at Sacred Heart, which boasted the top-ranked scoring offense in the conference.
In 2003, he was the tight ends coach and offensive line assistant at Massachusetts, helping the Minutemen win a share of the Atlantic 10 championship and a berth in the FCS playoffs.
As a player, Brown was a wide receiver at Kentucky for three years (1998-2000) before finishing his career at UMass in 2001-02.
He was a member of two bowl teams with the Wildcats and was named to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
While at UMass, he was an Atlantic 10 All-Academic honoree and an NCAA Division I-AA Athletic Directors’ Academic All-Star team selection.
Brown graduated from UMass with a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2002 and earned his master’s degree in business administration in 2005.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Brown grew up in Bardstown, Kentucky, before moving to Danville, Kentucky, where he was an all-state wide receiver at Boyle County High School, finishing his career as the No. 2 receiver in state history.
Brown and his wife, Brooke, have two daughters, Adalyn and Anslee, and a son, Dax.
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COACHING HISTORY
2003: UMass, Tight Ends/Offensive Line Assistant
2004: Sacred Heart, Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers
2005: Delaware, Wide Receivers
2006-07: Troy, Inside Wide Receivers
2008-09: Troy, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2010-12: Texas Tech, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2013-14: Kentucky, Offensive Coordinator
2015-18: Troy, Head Coach
2019-24: West Virginia, Head Coach
2025: Texas, Special Assistant to the Head Coach
2026-: UNT, Head Coach
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Brown joins the Mean Green as one of the most respected offensive minds in the country, with 10 seasons of experience as a head coach at the FBS level and nearly 25 years of collegiate coaching experience.
Across 10 seasons as a head coach at both Troy and West Virginia, Brown compiled a 72-51 overall record with seven bowl appearances, five bowl victories, three 10+ win seasons and the 2017 Sun Belt Conference title. He was also the 2017 Sun Belt Coach of the Year at Troy.
In six seasons as the head coach at West Virginia, Brown posted a 37-35 overall record and helped the Mountaineers earn four bowl berths. The 2023 season saw Brown coach WVU to a 9-4 overall record, the most single season wins for the program since 2016, and a final ranking of No. 25 overall in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
From 2015-18 as the head coach at Troy, Brown coached the Trojans to a 35-16 overall record including a remarkable 31-8 mark from 2016-18. In that span, Brown’s .794 winning percentage was the third highest in FBS, trailing only Alabama’s Nick Saban and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney who each won National Championships during that stretch. He was also one of just six coaches to win 10+ games in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
In his head coaching career, Brown has coached seven NFL Draft Picks and 24 total players in the NFL.
With Brown at the helm, the Mountaineers had six players named First Team All-Americans including Wyatt Milum (2024), Beanie Bishop Jr. (2023) and Darius Stills (2020) who were all consensus All-Americans. It was the first time since 2002-06 that WVU had three or more consensus All-America selections in a five-year span.
In addition, Brown’s tenure saw West Virginia players rake in a total of 51 All-America honors. In the classroom, the Mountaineers had two National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar Athletes and three CSC Academic All-Americans while having a 90+% Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for three consecutive years for the first time in program history, including a program-best 94% GSR in 2023 and 2024.
In 2025, Brown was the Special Assistant to Head Coach Steve Sarkisian at the University of Texas. Brown helped the Longhorns knock off three AP Top 10 opponents, the only FBS team in the country to do so.
The 2024 season saw West Virginia win at least six for the fourth time in five seasons with a 6-6 record in the regular season to earn a berth in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl. WVU finished the season 3-1 in one-score games and three of their six losses with Brown as the head coach came against AP Top 25 opponents.
Brown coached OL Wyatt Milum to a prolific season, helping him become just the 14th consensus All-American in the history of WVU football.
In 2023, West Virginia was picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll by the league media. However, Brown, his coaching staff and the entire program used that selection as the motivation needed to generate the best year of Mountaineer football since 2018, registering a 9-4 overall record, including a 30-10 win over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, a 6-3 mark in the league, and a No. 25 final ranking in the AFCA Final Coaches Poll.
Brown faced arguably the toughest schedule in his tenure. He earned Co-Big 12 Coach of the Year honors by Heartland College Sports. The conference finish tied the Mountaineers for fourth place – 10 spots better than originally predicted. Since becoming a member of the Big 12 Conference in 2012, WVU had only one better season, 2016, when it won seven league games.
The Mountaineers had one of the best offenses in the nation, producing the best rushing mark in Power Five football, averaging 228.9 yards per game and scoring a league-tying best 32 rushing touchdowns. WVU was the only school in the league to finish with more than 2,000 rushing yards in conference games (2,211). West Virginia currently leads the nation with 16 straight games of producing more than 140 rushing yards, three more than the next team on the list.
West Virginia gave up a league-low 10 sacks for the season, including only three in league games, ranking No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 2 among Power Five schools. That included 450 yards or more of total offense in seven games and producing 500 or more yards five times. WVU scored 30 or more points in seven of its last eight games. The defense, meanwhile, was No. 1 in the Big 12 in sacks (33) and No. 2 in tackles for loss (84).
In 2022, the Mountaineers won two of the final three games, including victories against Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State. The win over Oklahoma marked the first Big 12 Conference win over the Sooners, and the win over the Cowboys was the first since 2014 and snapped the Cowboys’ 14-game, home winning streak. WVU also defeated 2021 Big 12 Champion Baylor and rival Virginia Tech to hold on to the Black Diamond Trophy.
The 2021 squad finished with six wins and had its share of positives, including earning a bowl bid to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, its second in a row under Brown. Running back Leddie Brown rushed for 1,000 yards for the second year in a row, and WVU was fourth in the Big 12 in average passing yards per game (247.9). The Mountaineer defense finished No. 5 nationally in red-zone defense, No. 18 in the fewest first downs allowed and No. 29 in third-down defense.
The Mountaineers defeated No. 15 Virginia Tech, marking the highest-ranked win of the Brown era and also defeated No. 22 Iowa State.
West Virginia had a program-best 24 student-athletes named to the Academic All-Big 12 Teams, safety Sean Mahone was a finalist for the William Campbell Trophy, the academic Heisman, and he earned a spot on the National Football Foundation’s Scholar-Athlete Team. Kicker Casey Legg was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza National Kicking Award and WVU had nine players named to one of three postseason Big 12 all-conference teams by media organizations.
Frazier was named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation and American Football Coaches Association’s All-America teams, and Milum was named to three freshman All-America teams. Defensive lineman Dante Stills was named an All-Big 12 First Team honoree, and Frazier was on the second team.
The 2020 season while dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, Brown led the Mountaineers to a 6-4 overall over and 4-4 in the Big 12. Brown made his first bowl appearance as the coach of West Virginia against Army in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, winning the game, 24-21.
Five players earned All-America honors, led by Darius Stills, who was the school’s first Consensus All-American since 2006 and 12th in school history. Tony Fields II, Tykee Smith and Dante Stills were named to at least one All-America team, and freshmen Zach Frazier and Akheem Mesidor were named to Freshman All-America teams. In April, Fields was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, while five players signed free-agent contracts.
The Mountaineers finished the 2019 season with a 5-7 mark. WVU finished the regular season winning two of the final three games, at Kansas State and at TCU, and had a 3-3 mark on the road, including a 3-2 road record in the Big 12 Conference.
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-America 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 and was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
Prior to his time at WVU, Brown spent four seasons 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.
In the final two seasons of the Brown era, Troy 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 LSU in Baton Rouge, which snapped the Tigers’ 49-game non-conference home winning streak, and a 24-19 win at Nebraska. Also impressive was his team’s 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 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 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 (six wins).
Prior to Brown’s first season at Troy in 2015, he spent two years (2013-14) 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 conference play.
He also spent three years at Texas Tech (2010-12) as the offensive coordinator after his first stint at Troy as an assistant coach from 2006-09.
As Texas Tech’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the Red Raiders ranked in the nation’s top seven teams in passing offense, top 15 in total offense and top 25 in scoring offense, having increased production in all three categories each year since 2010. TTU finished the 2012 season second nationally in passing with 355.9 yards per game, 13th in total offense at 495.4 yards per game and 20th in scoring with 37.5 points per game.
The 2012 campaign was an expansion of the success from 2011, when Texas Tech ranked 13th nationally in total offense at 470.6 yards per game. The Red Raiders lit the scoreboard at a tune of 33.8 points per contest. In his first season in Lubbock, Brown’s offense notched 460.2 yards of total offense per game, including 318.9 passing, and scored at a 33.1-point clip as Tech went 8-5 and won the TicketCity Bowl.
At Troy, Brown was the inside receivers coach the first two years (2006-07) with the Trojans before transitioning to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2008-09. Troy won four Sun Belt Conference titles and appeared in three bowl games during Brown’s initial tenure.
He began his coaching career with one-year stints at UMass (2003), Sacred Heart (2004) and Delaware (2005).
At Delaware, Brown served as wide receivers coach. Starting three freshman wideouts, the Blue Hens went 6-5.
In 2004, Brown coached the quarterbacks and wide receivers at Sacred Heart, which boasted the top-ranked scoring offense in the conference.
In 2003, he was the tight ends coach and offensive line assistant at Massachusetts, helping the Minutemen win a share of the Atlantic 10 championship and a berth in the FCS playoffs.
As a player, Brown was a wide receiver at Kentucky for three years (1998-2000) before finishing his career at UMass in 2001-02.
He was a member of two bowl teams with the Wildcats and was named to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
While at UMass, he was an Atlantic 10 All-Academic honoree and an NCAA Division I-AA Athletic Directors’ Academic All-Star team selection.
Brown graduated from UMass with a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2002 and earned his master’s degree in business administration in 2005.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Brown grew up in Bardstown, Kentucky, before moving to Danville, Kentucky, where he was an all-state wide receiver at Boyle County High School, finishing his career as the No. 2 receiver in state history.
Brown and his wife, Brooke, have two daughters, Adalyn and Anslee, and a son, Dax.
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COACHING HISTORY
2003: UMass, Tight Ends/Offensive Line Assistant
2004: Sacred Heart, Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers
2005: Delaware, Wide Receivers
2006-07: Troy, Inside Wide Receivers
2008-09: Troy, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2010-12: Texas Tech, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2013-14: Kentucky, Offensive Coordinator
2015-18: Troy, Head Coach
2019-24: West Virginia, Head Coach
2025: Texas, Special Assistant to the Head Coach
2026-: UNT, Head Coach
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The First 24 with Coach Neal Brown | Mean Green FB
Tuesday, December 09
Glory To The Green: Recap vs Temple | Mean Green FB
Tuesday, December 09
NEAL BROWN INTRODUCTORY PRESS CONFERENCE
Tuesday, December 09
WBB Postgame Press Conference | UNT vs. Texas Southern
Saturday, December 06
