Lyle Brown, one of Rochester's most successful two-sport coaches and a member of the University's Athletic Hall of Fame, passed away on September 28, 2006.
In 19 seasons as Rochester's men's basketball coach, Brown won 222 games and lost 181. He is third in career victories at Rochester behind Mike Neer (492) and Louis Alexander (247). Brown succeeded Alexander as men's basketball coach in 1957-58 and was succeeded by Neer in 1976-77. Over the past 75 years, they are the only three men to coach men's basketball at the University.
He also coached the men's soccer team for 10 years, wining 50 games, losing 27, and tying three. His Rochester soccer teams were some of the most successful in school history, posting a 7-0-1 record in 1957 and a 7-1-0 record in 1958.
Brown came to the River Campus in 1955 after coaching boys basketball at Pittsford High School for 10 years. His Pittsford teams won 142 games, lost 41, and won seven Monroe County Championships.
At Rochester, Brown took the Yellowjackets to the NCAA College Division basketball playoffs four times – in 1960-61, 1961-62, 1966-67, and 1967-68. His up-tempo offense averaged more than 75 points a game for the season 11 times in 19 years.
Brown was a full professor in the Department of Sports and Recreation who coached freshman baseball for five years. On the River Campus, he was appointed as Chairman of the Commencement Exercises and was a member of the Faculty Senate. He authored the book, “Offensive and Defensive Drills for Winning Basketball”.
He was a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches for 38 years, chaired the Membership Committee, the Hall of Fame Committee, the Press Committee, and the Convention Committee. He was the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1964-65 and 1969-70.
Brown coached six All-America players in soccer and four in basketball. He was inducted into the University's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993, as part of the second induction class.
A 1945 graduate of Ithaca College, Brown later earned a master's degree from Ithaca.
