Paul Brown, who was in the midst of his first season as an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh men’s cross country and track and field programs, has been selected as the school’s interim head coach for both sports.
Brown replaces John Zupanc, who coached UW Oshkosh’s men’s cross country team since 1982 and the men’s track and field squad since 2005. Zupanc guided the Titans to four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III cross country titles and two national championships in track and field before retiring from his coaching positions in December.
Brown joined the UW Oshkosh men’s cross country program in August after serving the previous two years as an assistant coach for the UW-La Crosse men’s cross country and track and field programs. Last fall, Brown’s coaching efforts helped the Titans to a third-place finish at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship and an 11th-place ranking at the NCAA Division III Championship.
“Our goal in this hire was to find someone who would help produce a seamless transition for our student-athletes, and Paul was the obvious choice,” UW Oshkosh Director of Athletics Darryl Sims said. “He has all the tools to effectively lead our cross country and track and field teams on an interim basis through the end of the 2012 track and field season.”
While working on his master’s degree at UW-La Crosse, Brown mentored 10 NCAA Division III All-Americans and helped coach the Eagles to one NCAA Division III title and five WIAC championships.
“The opportunity to lead the UW Oshkosh men’s cross country and track and field teams is truly a dream come true,” Brown said. “It has been a life-changing privilege to be a student-athlete and friend of John Zupanc, and I look forward to carrying on the tradition that he has so diligently built.”
Brown inherits a UW Oshkosh men’s cross country program that owns four NCAA Division III titles and nine WIAC championships. The Titans have qualified as a team for the NCAA Division III Championship 20 times in the past 25 years.
In men’s track and field, Brown takes over a UW Oshkosh program that won NCAA Division III indoor and outdoor titles in 2009. The Titans have placed among the top four nationally at each of the last five indoor championships. Last spring, UW Oshkosh finished fourth indoors and seventh outdoors at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championship.
Brown earned eight varsity letters for UW Oshkosh from 2001-2006. He was a member of the school’s cross country squad in 2001 and 2003, while earning indoor track and field letters in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006. Brown also competed in outdoor track and field for the Titans in 2003 and 2006.
Brown achieved his best success in the sport of indoor track and field. In 2003, he led off the Titans’ distance medley relay that captured the NCAA Division III title with a time of 10:10.07. UW Oshkosh finished second in the national team standings that year after placing fifth in 2002. Brown also was a member of UW Oshkosh indoor squads that placed third at the NCAA Division III Championship in 2006 and 12th in 2004.
Brown was a competitor on UW Oshkosh outdoor track and field teams that finished third at the NCAA Division III Championship in 2003 and 10th in 2006. He qualified for the 2006 national meet in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
In cross country, Brown was a member of UW Oshkosh teams that placed sixth at the NCAA Division III Championship in 2001 and ninth in 2003. Brown’s 12th-place finish at the 2003 WIAC Championship helped the Titans to the team title.
Brown also serves as an instructor in UW Oshkosh’s Human Kinetics and Health Education department. The West Allis native earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from UW Oshkosh in 2006 and his master’s degree in human performance from UW-La Crosse this past August.
Kennan Timm, athletic department, submitted this announcement. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to contribute calendar items, campus announcements and other good news to UW Oshkosh Today.