COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Watson Brown, currently in his eighth season as the head football coach at Tennessee Tech University, has been given a contract extension that will keep the Cookeville native at the program's helm through the 2019 season.

“Watson Brown is a man of tremendous integrity and high character, and he has done an outstanding job of coaching and leading the student-athletes in our football program,” said Mark Wilson, TTU Director of Athletics.              

Brown, 64, was named in December, 2006, as Tech’s 10th head football coach. The 2014 season is his 42nd year of coaching collegiate football overall and his 30th year as a collegiate head coach.

Under his direction, the Golden Eagles have won back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Academic Achievement Awards among the league's football programs, and last year compiled the highest overall team GPA in program history. Last year, Tech was recognized by the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) for posting the highest Academic Progress Rate (APR) among the Ohio Valley Conference football teams.

Those academic laurels came on the heels of the team capturing the 2011 OVC championships, the team's first league title in 36 years, and advancing to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the first time in school history.

“I’m excited that the University is pleased with what we’re doing,” Brown said. “I'm excited about what we've been able to accomplish here, and I'm even more excited about what we will accomplish over the next six years. We plan on getting another championship during my time here, and I'm looking forward to working through all six years of this contract.

"I really like the feeling of excitement that surrounds this program, and we plan to keep that going," Brown said.

Wilson pointed to Brown’s leadership both on the field and off when announcing the contract extension.

“Watson has been such a great leader for Golden Eagle football since he’s been here,” Wilson said. “He’s a great coach, a great leader and a great man, and we’re fortunate that he’s leading our football team.

“As good a coach as Watson Brown is, he’s a better man. He’s really teaching our young men life lessons, the way he handles them off the field, and academically. He’s teaching the young men that play football at Tennessee Tech to be great citizens in their communities when they graduate from here.”

Brown's staff has done a remarkable job in recruiting during the past several years, and has raised the talent level walking the sidelines in Tucker Stadium. The veteran coach has used an even-tempered approach to teach his young staff and players. It resulted in Tech returning to the pinacle of the OVC with a conference championship in 2011, the school's 10th league title but first since 1975.

“I’m enjoying it tremendously. This is home for me. When I was growing up, Tennessee Tech was absolutely the best football program in the league. The experiences were fantastic for me. I really wanted to come back here and give back, and get the championships going again,” Brown said.
       
He made his head coaching debut in 1979 in the Ohio Valley Conference directing the Austin Peay Governors, and at age 29, he was one of the youngest head coaches in the nation.