Courtesy: Gettsburg College Athletics
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg College Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation Mike Mattia has announced the hiring of Greg Brown as the new head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming program.
Brown brings a wealth of experience to Gettysburg. He was the first-ever head swimming coach at Division III Marywood University and most recently, he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Division I Army West Point.
“We had a very competitive pool of candidates and are very excited to welcome Greg Brown as our next head men’s and women’s swim coach,” said Mattia. “He brings a wealth of experience as an assistant coach, head coach, and former swimming student-athlete at the DI and DIII levels. He has grown programs and helped established programs get better.”
A former student-athlete at Lycoming College, Brown returns to his Division III roots after four years coaching at the Division I level, first as an assistant at Florida Atlantic University (2015-17) and then at Army (2017-19).
“I’m beyond excited to be the next head coach at Gettysburg College,” said Brown. “This position checked off all the boxes, both personally and professionally and I can’t wait to get started.
“I’d like to thank Barbara Fritze, Mike Mattia and Susan Fumagalli and the entire search committee for the opportunity to join the Gettysburg College family. I look forward to working with our coaching staff and administration to provide the best student-athlete experience as possible. It is my goal to continue to build upon the many successes that have been accomplished in Gettysburg swimming.”
At Army, Brown coached five individual Patriot League champions and steered the men’s team to three relay victories at the league championship for the first time in program history this season. Both men’s and women’s programs finished second in the Patriot League Championships in 2018-19.
Brown also oversaw the recruiting program at Army and was responsible for planning, organizing, and executing all campus visits, recruiting weekends, and staff travel. Army’s 2020 men’s class is ranked as the strongest statistically in program history per collegeswimming.com rankings.
His time at Army followed a two-year stint as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida Atlantic. Brown assisted the head coach in all aspects of the program and served as the sprint coach. He coached FAU’s only CCSA gold medalist in the men’s 100 backstroke and worked with four student-athletes that achieved NCAA “B” cuts. Brown also helped train the school’s US Olympic Trial qualifier.
“I’m really excited to get in and develop the current team,” said Brown, who becomes Gettysburg’s third head coach since 1980. “I’ve learned some great things at my recent stops that will help the swimmers go fast. I want to bring in a positive, exciting energy that the team and the staff can really get behind.”
Brown was also the head women’s coach at Division I Siena College from 2006-10. He led the team to the program’s only 10-win season and a third-place finish at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships in 2009-10. The team set 13 records at the league meet in his final year at Siena and he was named the MAAC Women’s Coach of the Year.
Brown was a volunteer coach at the University of Vermont from 2002-03 and spent four years as the head swim coach at the Greater Burlington YMCA prior to arriving at Siena.
“Greg is passionate about the sport of swimming, and will not only do a good job of coaching our teams to get faster, but also provide them with an overall incredible experience,” stated Mattia. “He grew up in the area, and is known as being an outstanding recruiter. We look forward to Greg building on the legacy that Mike Rawleigh established, and are happy to welcome him and his family into the Gettysburg community.”
A native of nearby Mechanicsburg, Pa., Brown returns to the area where he grew his passion for swimming. He was a seven-time Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) medalist at Lycoming College and was the team MVP in 2001. Brown graduated from Lycoming with a degree in history in 2002.
Brown was hired as Marywood’s first swim coach in 2010 and spent five seasons building the Pacers into a contender in the Landmark Conference. He was named the Landmark Conference Men’s Co-Coach of the Year in 2013-14 after leading the squad to a 9-3 overall record and fourth-place finish at the league championship meet. During his final two seasons, nine student-athletes were named to the all-conference team. Brown’s swimmers still hold a total of 22 school records at Marywood.
Brown inherits a pair of Gettysburg programs that have long been the staple for excellence in the Centennial Conference. Combined, the men’s and women’s teams have claimed a total of 29 conference titles over the last 26 seasons. The men finished runner-up at the league championship this past season, while the women finished third. The two program’s combined for a total of eight program records this year.
The new head coach also as the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of one of the most successful coaches in the long history of Gettysburg athletics. Mike Rawleigh announced his retirement after 34 seasons at the helm of the two programs, which included a total of 42 conference titles, 548 total wins, 118 All-America citations, and a pair of individual national titles.
“I look forward to getting in there and getting to know the athletes first,” said Brown, who will officially start his new duties July 8. “Learning about what works for them will help me build a workout structure moving into the season. There has been tremendous success here and you want to honor and appreciate what Coach Rawleigh did. I would like to put together a winning combination of athlete development and high-level recruiting and build on the unbelievable foundation that has been set.”
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