| Career Accolades |
| • FHSU all-time leader in coaching wins (89-58 overall in 13 seasons) |
| • 2017 & 2018 MIAA Coach of the Year |
| • 2017 Don Hansen Football Committee Super Region 3 Coach of the Year |
| • 2 appearances in NCAA Division II Playoffs (2017, 2018) |
| • 2 appearances in NCAA Division II bowl games (2015, 2016) |
| • 178 All-MIAA Selections |
| • 31 All-America Selections |
| • 9 CSC Academic All-America Selections |
| • 4 Players Signed with NFL Teams |
| • Pittsburg State University Hall of Fame (2006) |
| • MIAA Hall of Fame (2015) |
Chris Brown enters his 14th season as head coach at Fort Hays State in 2025. He is the all-time coaching wins leader in program history, now with a record of 89-58. The program has 74 wins over the last 10 seasons, winning at least seven games in eight of those 10 seasons. He has guided the Tigers to two conference championships and four postseason appearances.
Brown is a two-time MIAA Coach of the Year, earning the honor in both 2017 and 2018. In 2017, Brown led the program to its first-ever Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championship and first appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs since 1995. By leading the Tigers to their most successful season in program history with a record of 11-1, including an undefeated 11-0 mark in the regular season, Brown earned 2017 MIAA Coach of the Year and Don Hansen Football Committee Super Region 3 Coach of the Year honors. The Tigers backed that with another MIAA Championship in 2018, going 9-2 in the regular season to net Brown a second-straight MIAA Coach of the Year honor. The team finished at 9-3 after falling in the opening round of the NCAA Playoffs, but it was the first time the program reached the NCAA Playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Fort Hays State played postseason games four straight years under Brown's guidance from 2015 to 2018. Going 11-0 in 2017 during the regular season and setting a new school record for wins in a season to win a conference title, the Tigers earned the No. 1 seed in Super Region 3 of the NCAA Playoffs. Fort Hays State hosted Ferris State (Mich.) in the Super Region Semifinals and finished the year 11-1, but ended a 22-year absence from the playoffs in the process. The conference title was also the program's first since 1995. The following year in 2018, FHSU went 9-2 in the regular season for its second-straight conference championship and finished at 9-3 after facing University of Indianapolis in Super Region 3 of the NCAA Playoffs. In 2016, Fort Hays State claimed its first-ever postseason game win by defeating Eastern New Mexico in the Heart of Texas Bowl to finish 8-4 overall. The 2015 team also finished 8-4 overall, making an appearance in the Mineral Water Bowl against University of Minnesota-Duluth.
After finishing with a 4-7 mark in Brown's first year (2011), the Tigers made a steady climb finishing 5-6 in 2012, 6-5 in 2013, and 7-4 in 2014. In 2015, the Tigers went 8-4 overall with an appearance in the Mineral Water Bowl, but in 2016 went 8-4 again and won the Heart of Texas Bowl. The program saw a huge leap in 2017 with an overall record of 11-1, setting the new school record for wins in a season by three. The Tigers enjoyed seven consecutive winning seasons from 2013 to 2019, their longest streak since joining NCAA Division II. The Tigers have accomplished the feat as members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, arguably the nation’s premier Division II football conference that has produced the national champion five times in the last 13 years. FHSU joined the MIAA in 2006.
Fort Hays State enjoyed its most All-MIAA selections under Brown in 2017 with 21. Brown has now coached 178 All-MIAA selections at Fort Hays State, including 35 first-team selections. Fort Hays State boasted the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year three straight years (2016-2018), Sie Doe, Jr. in 2016, Nathan Shepherd in 2017, and Jose Delgado in 2018. In 2024, Myles Menges became the fourth MIAA Defensive Player of the Year during Brown's tenure. The New York Jets selected Shepherd in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the first NCAA Division II player selected in the draft that year. Shepherd became Fort Hays State's first player taken in the NFL Draft since 1987. FHSU also had a player claim the MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year honor three straight years (2017-2019), kickers Brandon Brown (2017) and Dante Brown (2018 and 2019). Dante Brown was the Don Hansen Football Committee National Special Teams Player of the Year in both 2018 and 2019.
Brown has coached 31 All-Americans at FHSU. Twelve of the 31 have received first team honors, which includes Alex Whitehill (linebacker) and Ethan Kosjer (punter) in 2011, Brock Long (linebacker) in 2015, Sie Doe, Jr. (defensive lineman) and Raheeme Dumas (defensive back) in 2016, and Nathan Shepherd (defensive lineman) and Travis Talley (offensive lineman) in 2017, Jose Delgado (linebacker) in 2018, Dante Brown (kicker) in 2018 and 2019, Hunter Budke (tight end) in 2021, and Myles Menges (defensive lineman) in 2024. Fort Hays State enjoyed eight All-America selections in 2017, the most for a season in the program’s history. Doe was the D2CCA Super Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year, the first in program history, in 2016. Two years later in 2018, Jose Delgado earned the same honor. Whitehill (2011) was one of six players to earn CSC Academic All-America honors in Brown’s tenure. Defensive lineman Jesse Trent was a three-time Academic All-America selection from 2012-14. Defensive back Doyin Jibowu (2017), defensive back Connor Shedeed (2018), special teamer Alex Schremmer (2022), defensive lineman Myles Menges (2024), and offensive lineman Josh Shaw (2024) were Academic All-America selections as well.
Brown also coached four players at FHSU that have signed with NFL teams, the most recent being Doyin Jibowu in 2019 with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent. The New York Jets selected Nathan Shepherd in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft and he recorded 15 tackles in his rookie season. Safety Nathan Lindsey (Detroit Lions) and wide receiver Ed Williams (Green Bay Packers) also signed with NFL teams in 2015 as undrafted free agents. Williams spent two seasons with the Packers. The Tigers have also had a handful of individuals sign with CFL teams (Canadian Football League).
Brown came to Fort Hays State from Washburn University, where he served as the defensive coordinator and defensive secondary coach from 2002-2010 and assistant head coach in 2010. Brown helped Washburn compile a 62-41 record in his nine-year span with the program, which included two NCAA playoff appearances and two bowl wins. In his time at Washburn, Brown coached the 2009 and 2006 MIAA Most Valuable Defensive Players and guided two players selected in the NFL Draft (defensive tackle Trey Lewis-6th round 2007, and cornerback Cary Williams-7th round 2008). Brown also coached six All-Americans, 20 all-region and 41 All-MIAA selections at Washburn. His defense led the MIAA in turnovers gained in three of his final four seasons there, including a school record-tying 23 interceptions in 2007.
Brown joined the Washburn coaching staff after spending three years as the secondary coach at Liberal (Kan.) High School where he helped the team to a mark of 37-5 in his time.
A native of Liberal, Kansas, Brown is a 1996 graduate of Pittsburg State University where he recorded 470 tackles in 43 starts in his career at free safety. He is one of only three Gorillas to earn All-American honors three times. He was a unanimous All-American First Team selection his senior season and was named the CNN Division II National Player of the Year in 1995. He was also named to the NCAA Quarter Century Team for all players from 1975 to 1999 at free safety. He had a record 21 tackles in the NCAA Division II National Championship as a freshman against Jacksonville State. Brown was inducted into the Pittsburg State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006 and the MIAA Hall of Fame in 2015. He and his wife, Daphne, have two sons, Hunter and Hayden.
Brown at Fort Hays State Year-By-Year
| Year |
Record |
Finish |
| 2011 |
4-7 |
T-6th MIAA |
| 2012 |
5-6 |
T-9th MIAA |
| 2013 |
6-5 |
8th MIAA |
| 2014 |
7-4 |
T-4th MIAA |
| 2015 |
8-4 |
T-3rd MIAA, Mineral Water Bowl Appearance |
| 2016 |
8-4 |
T-4th MIAA, Heart of Texas Bowl Champions |
| 2017 |
11-1 |
MIAA Champions, NCAA Playoffs Round of 16 |
| 2018 |
9-3 |
MIAA Champions, NCAA Playoffs Opening Round |
| 2019 |
8-3 |
T-3rd MIAA |
| 2020 |
--- |
No season due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 |
5-6 |
7th MIAA |
| 2022 |
3-8 |
10th MIAA |
| 2023 |
7-4 |
T-5th MIAA |
| 2024 |
8-3 |
T-3rd MIAA |
| Overall |
89-58 |
4 years of postseason play |
