| Chris Brown was announced on March 8, 2005, as the
first baseball coach at MSU Billings since Stan Kondracki guided the
Yellowjackets in 1974. Brown takes the reigns of a program that
will be the first NCAA baseball program in the state of Montana.
MSU Billings announced in early February that
it was reviving a baseball program that last competed in the NAIA
30 years ago. The program becomes the only NCAA baseball
program in Montana. Beginning with the 2006 spring season, the
Yellowjacket baseball team will compete in the Heartland Conference.
“To be honest, this is a dream come true," said
Brown of his new appointment in March. "For me personally, this job offers the
opportunity to be in location that is very desirable. I’ve spent a lot of time in Montana and I love the area.
As a coach it offers the opportunity to get into a program that
provides the opportunity to be successful. I look forward to
being part of a program that has already generated a lot of
enthusiasm and excitement. One of the exiting things will be
giving the opportunity to Montana players to stay in the state.
They have opportunities at a couple junior colleges, but it’s
exciting to be the first four year program in Montana. That
provides the ideal vehicle for Montana baseball players to go to
college close to home.”
Brown was the head
coach for two seasons at Bemidji State University, a Division
II institution in Bemidji, MN, but left the
Beavers immediately to begin recruiting at MSU Billings.
At Bemidji, Brown was the first coach in the program's 54 year history
to post back-to-back seasons of more than 10 conference wins.
Before he was promoted to head coach in the
summer of 2002, Brown was an assistant coach at Bemidji State for two
years. As an assistant he served as the team’s recruiting
coordinator and pitching coach. He spent one season as an
assistant coach at Jamestown College (ND), where he was a pitcher
for four years. |
