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Chris Brown
University of South Florida Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly named Chris Brown as the third head coach in USF women’s soccer program history on Nov. 28, 2023.
A longtime associate head coach with the USF program alongside his wife Denise Schilte-Brown (head coach, 2007-2023), Brown has 11 years of professional playing experience and previously served as a head coach at VCU and for the United States (U20) and Guyana (Senior) national teams.
He has been an integral part of the most successful era in the 28-year history of USF women’s soccer, serving on the staff since 2007 and helping to guide the Bulls to an 184-97-43 record over 17 seasons before taking over as head coach. Brown helped lead the Bulls to three AAC regular season titles, three AAC Tournament titles, and eight NCAA Tournament appearances – winning a conference title every year from 2017-21 while making five straight NCAA appearances during that period.
“Chris has been a major part of the tremendous success we have had in women’s soccer over the last two decades and we are thrilled to have him leading our program into a very bright future,” Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly said. “From recruiting and developing All-Americans and Conference Players of the Year to winning big matches, conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, Chris has been integral to our success behind the scenes. I’m so happy he now has the opportunity to lead our program from out front, and have seen the vision and passion he has to not only sustain the proud tradition he helped to build but take USF women’s soccer to another level.”
Brown helped lead the Bulls to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010, a program-record 16 wins and program-best NCAA Tournament third-round appearance in 2019, both conference regular season and tournament titles in 2020, and a string of 10 straight seasons with 10 or more wins (2012-21). Brown has helped lead the Bulls to every NCAA appearance in program history, including two appearances in the second round, and three AAC Championship Game appearances.
As USF associate head coach, he mentored the program's first All-American and recent USF Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Evelyne Viens, who went on to earn three total All-America honors and an Olympic gold medal with the Canadian National Team at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. Goalie Sydney Martinez (2020) and forward Sydny Nasello (2020 and 2021) also earned All-America honors and were among the Bulls that have earned a total of eight AAC Offensive Player of the Year, AAC Midfielder of the Year, AAC Defensive Player of the Year or AAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Players he has coached hold every program individual record and most, if not all, of the top 10 marks in every category.
The Bulls have seen continual improvement during Brown’s tenure, advancing in almost every offensive and defensive category.
In each of his first four seasons, USF bettered its numbers from the previous season in total wins, conference wins, goals scored, points, shots on goal, goals allowed, GAA and shutouts. In his first season with USF, Brown helped guide the Bulls to the 2007 BIG EAST tournament and did so again in 2009, where the Bulls picked up the program’s first BIG EAST Championship win.
In 2010, USF made its first appearance in the BIG EAST Championship Final and made its first NCAA tournament appearance, going on to post the first NCAA win with a 3-1 defeat of Auburn. The Bulls posted what was then the second most wins program history (14).
Brown helped lead the Bulls to their first AAC Tournament Championship in 2017, and a second-round NCAA appearance.
Brown helped lead USF to a then program-record-tying 15-4 mark in 2018, clinching the first regular season conference championship in USF history with a program-best 8-1 mark in AAC play. His leadership also helped the Bulls reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.
In 2019, Brown helped coach the team to a program-best 16-5 mark, an AAC Tournament title, and a program-record third-round finish in the NCAA tournament.
Brown and the Bulls continued their success in 2020, with the team sweeping the AAC regular season and conference titles and reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament. That was followed by yet another conference championship season and NCAA tournament appearance in 2021.
Brown also worked with the Guyana Football Federation from 2009-2014, serving as assistant coach for the Guyana Senior Women’s National Team in 2009 before being promoted to head coach from 2010-2014. He helped the team to qualify for both the Central American and Caribbean Games and the final round of the 2010 Gold Cup.
Brown also served as head coach of the U20 Women’s Team from 2012-2013.
Brown came to USF from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he worked with the Rams for seven seasons, six of which serving as co-head coach alongside his wife, Denise Schilte-Brown, who he would follow to USF to lead the Bulls program.
Brown joined VCU for the 2000 season as an assistant coach and helped lead the team, which finished just 3-15-2 the previous year, to a breakthrough campaign as the Rams finished with a 9-10-1 record and advanced to the semifinals of the CAA tournament for the first time in school history. He was elevated to co-head coach in April of 2001 and directed the 2001 VCU squad to seven wins and another appearance in the league tournament semifinals, which earned the husband-and-wife tandem CAA Coach-of-the-Year honors.
In 2004, the pair guided the Rams to their first CAA regular season and CAA Tournament titles and first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. VCU continued its success the next season, winning the 2005 CAA regular season title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season while also winning the program's first and only game in the tournament, a 3-1 victory over Clemson.
Brown played collegiately at both UNC Charlotte and American University before graduating from American in 1994. He also went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Sport Administration and Management with Honors from VCU in 2004.
He played professionally for 11 seasons (1994-2004), including the last five with the Richmond Kickers of the A-League. Brown was also a member of the A-League's New Orleans Storm from 1996-99 and played briefly for Major League Soccer's Dallas Burn during the 1998 season. In addition, he spent two years with TusCelle of the German Third Division.
Brown's collegiate coaching career began as an assistant with the University of Tampa men's team in 1997. He then joined future wife Denise Schilte during her two-year stint as head coach at Maryland-Baltimore County before the pair arrived at VCU.
Born in London, England, Brown grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and holds citizenship in three countries: the United States, England and Canada. He possesses a USSF "A" coaching license and a USSF National Youth coaching license.
Brown’s wife, Denise Schilte-Brown, is the head coach of Tampa Bay Sun FC, a professional team that will compete in the USL Super League, and previously served as head coach at USF for 17 seasons (2007-23). The couple have two children, a set of twins named Ethan and Kenza.
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