(BCSNN | UPI) -- The University of North Texas announced Tuesday that Neal Brown has been hired as the 21st head football coach in program history. Vice President and Director of Athletics Jared Mosley introduced Brown as one of the most respected offensive minds in college football, citing his track record of program-building and sustained success.
Brown, 45, owns a 72–51 career record across 10 seasons as a head coach at Troy and West Virginia. His résumé includes seven bowl appearances, five bowl victories, three consecutive 10-win seasons, and the 2017 Sun Belt Conference championship. He was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year that same season.
“We are thrilled to welcome Neal Brown as our next head football coach,” Mosley said. “Neal is a proven leader who builds programs with integrity, vision, and an unwavering commitment to developing student-athletes on and off the field. His history of elevating rosters and producing results in highly competitive leagues makes him an ideal fit for North Texas.”
Brown most recently served as Special Assistant to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian in 2025, helping the Longhorns knock off three AP Top 10 opponents — the only FBS team to do so. Prior to that, he spent six seasons at West Virginia, where he guided the Mountaineers to four bowl berths and a 9–4 campaign in 2023, the program’s best season since 2016.
At Troy from 2015–18, Brown engineered one of the nation’s most impressive turnarounds. His teams went 35–16 overall, including a 31–8 stretch from 2016–18 that ranked third nationally in winning percentage behind only Alabama’s Nick Saban and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. The Trojans won the 2017 Sun Belt title and posted signature victories at LSU and Nebraska.
Brown’s coaching career also includes offensive coordinator stints at Kentucky and Texas Tech, where his units consistently ranked among the nation’s best in passing and total offense. He began his career with stops at UMass, Sacred Heart, and Delaware before joining Troy’s staff in 2006.
As a player, Brown was a wide receiver at Kentucky and UMass, earning SEC Academic Honor Roll and Atlantic 10 All-Academic honors. He graduated from UMass with a business management degree in 2002 and earned his MBA in 2005.
Born in Louisville and raised in Bardstown and Danville, Kentucky, Brown was an all-state receiver at Boyle County High School. He and his wife, Brooke, have three children: daughters Adalyn and Anslee, and son Dax.
Brown’s hire is contingent upon completion of the university background check process and Board of Regents approval. UNT retained Collegiate Sports Associates to conduct an extensive national search. With Brown at the helm, the Mean Green aim to contend for championships in The American.
