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Mike Brown
Mike Brown enters his fifth season in charge of the Iowa Western Men’s Soccer program for 2023-24. He is the third coach in program history, taking the reins from his former boss, Jordan Carver, in May of 2019.
In Brown’s first season with the Reivers, the team returned to ICCAC prominence, posting a 16-1-1 record, winning the ICCAC title, and returning to the NJCAA National Tournament after a two-year absence. The Reivers finished the season ranked 5th in the country after reaching as high as #2 in the national polls. In his second season in charge of the Reivers in the spring of 2021, Coach Brown led the team to a 16-1-2 record with his team repeating as ICCAC Champions. The Reivers also won the program’s first Region XI Championship since 2016 and first Midwest District Championship since 2015, qualifying for the National Tournament again and making it all the way to the National Championship final before falling 2-1 in OT to Salt Lake CC. The Reivers spent the majority of the year ranked 1st in the polls finishing 2nd in the Final poll. That spring the Reivers also finished with a cumulative 3.73 Team GPA. In the fall of 2021, his third season in charge, Brown led the Reivers to a 20-1-1 mark finishing ICCAC Champions, Region XI Champions, and achieving the program’s 2nd National Championship, defeating Arizona Western 2-0 in the National Championship game.
Overall Brown holds a very successful record during his time in the Junior College Ranks. He holds a Head Coaching Record of 100-11-9 posting a 52-2-3 record while being Head Coach of Iowa Western and a 48-9-6 record while being Head Coach at Barton. During his time at Iowa Western combined as an assistant and Head Coach, the program is 95-4-5. As a Head Coach Brown has won 4 Conference Regular Season Titles, 3 Region Titles, 2 District Titles, and one National Championship with his teams appearing in the game on two other occasions.
Brown returned to Council Bluffs after serving as the head coach at Barton Community College in Kansas from 2016-2019. The Cougars finished Coach Brown's final season in Great Bend at 21-2-2 and the national runner-up after falling in two overtimes at the NJCAA Championships. Brown was instrumental in turning around the men's soccer program at Barton, posting an overall record of 48-9-6 on the field, but it started in the classroom. Coach Brown's Cougar squads improved each year academically, finishing second in the NJCAA in 2018-19 with a team GPA of 3.31. During his time at Barton, he aided the advancement of multiple players to the four-year level from Barton.
Prior to his time at Barton, Brown was an assistant at the University of Central Arkansas, an NCAA D-1 program, from 2014-16. Coach Brown assisted with academics, video analysis, and travel. During his tenure, the Bears were awarded the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (now United Soccer Coaches) academic award in 2014 with a 3.12 GPA. During that time Brown also served as the Director of Conway Rush and was instrumental in the creation of NPSL expansion side Little Rock Rangers serving as the franchise’s director of player development
Brown began his collegiate coaching career at Iowa Western in 2012, where he served as the program’s recruiting coordinator. During this time, the program went 42-1-1 and was the 2013 NJCAA National Champion with a record of 25-0-0. During Brown’s previous stay in Council Bluffs with the Reivers, he coached and recruited 34 student-athletes that went on to play at four-year institutions.
Brown currently serves as the Chair of the United Soccer Coaches All-America and Rankings Committee. Throughout his career, he has aided multiple athletes in their move to the four-year level and has also recruited and coached four student-athletes who are currently playing professionally in the USL.
Brown currently holds a Premier Diploma and Goalkeeping Level 2 Diploma from the NSCAA and also holds his USSF D License. Coach Brown graduated in 2012 from Benedictine College with a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and in 2013 with a Master of Science in Sports Administration from Liberty University
"My family and I are beyond thrilled to take over this program and carry on the traditions that Coach Carver has established," Brown says, "Since serving on Coach Carver's staff, Iowa Western has always held a very special place in my heart. The opportunity to come back and push it towards being the premier soccer program in the country was something I could not pass up."
Coach Brown goes on to add, "I will be forever grateful to Coach Carver and his family for everything they have done for me and it is an honor to lead this program. I am thankful to the people at Barton County that gave me an opportunity to become a head coach. I'd like to thank Mr. Capo and Dr. Kinney for entrusting me with this program, your energy and enthusiasm made this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am excited to get to work with these outstanding young men and we are looking forward to the future. Great things lie ahead."
Coach Brown and his wife, Amy, are the proud parents of Ayla and Noelle and reside in Council Bluffs
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