Brown promoted to associate head coach position at Norfolk State

Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones announced this week that Jamal Brown has been promoted to the associate head coach position on his staff.

Brown has spent the past five years as an assistant coach with the Spartans, helping to lead them to a pair of MEAC regular season titles, the 2021 MEAC Championship, and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

“Jamal is a coaching veteran who is very deserving of the title of associate head coach,” said Jones. “He is invaluable in our day-to-day operations and is the behind-the-scenes ‘fixer.’ Jamal has received numerous recognitions for his achievements, and I’m excited to give him this title.”

“It is an honor to be recognized for my contributions to the men’s basketball program,” said Brown. “The success that we’ve achieved is a direct reflection of the phenomenal staff that I work with every day. I’m excited about what the future holds for NSU basketball.”

NSU won its second ever MEAC title this past season after also sharing the Northern Division title at 8-4. The Spartans finished 17-8 overall in 2020-21, defeating Appalachian State in the NCAA Tournament First Four on the way to being named the HBCU Large School National Champion by the Black College Sports Network (BCSN). Norfolk State became the first current member of the MEAC to win a second game in the tournament, as well as the first Spartan team to win both a regular season and postseason MEAC title in the same year.

Norfolk State captured the MEAC regular season title in 2018-19 (14-2) and upset No. 1 Alabama in the NIT first round. The Spartans finished with 22 wins that season, the second most since joining Division I. They advanced to the MEAC Tournament final in 2019 after also doing so in 2017 in Brown’s first season with the program. NSU owns a 57-19 record (75.0 percent) in the league, 86-73 overall, since he joined the staff. A total of 12 players have earned All-MEAC honors during that time.