University of Central Arkansas Athletics

    The most prolific quarterback in University of Central Arkansas history became the 20th head coach of the program in December 2017 when Nathan Brown was hired to replace Steve Campbell.

    Brown, a 2016 inductee in the UCA Sports Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, spent the previous four years (2014-17) as the Bears’ offensive coordinator on teams that went 33-15 (.688), including 20-5 (.800) in 2016-17 and had the most efficient passing offense in the FCS in 2017.

    Brown, a native of Russellville, Ark., led the Bears to a 6-5 mark in his first season as head coach in 2018. Of the five losses by the Bears, two were by three or less points, including one in overtime. UCA finished 5-4 in Southland Conference play.

    The Bears had the No. 4 scoring offense in the league, the No. 2 rushing defense and the No. 3 scoring defense.

    In Year 2, the Bears finished 9-4 overall and went 7-2 in conference play (co-champions), earning a No. 8 national seeding in the FCS Playoffs and a bye in the first round before hosting Illinois State at First Security Field at Estes Stadium. The playoff appearance was the fifth overall and third in the previous four years.

    UCA not only survived but thrived during the pandemic season of 2020, playing a full fall schedule when many programs sat out the season. UCA, which played the first college football game in the nation (FCS Kickoff Classic), finished 5-4 against one of the toughest schedules in school history, with a pair of FBS opponents and the eight-time FCS champion North Dakota State, all on the road.

    The Bears came back with another tough schedule in 2021, playing FBS Arkansas State, along with a slate of games in the new ASUN/WAC Challenge in UCA’s first year in the ASUN.

    The Bears won a share of the first-ever ASUN championship in 2022, going 3-2 in league play. UCA also took on another formidable schedule, playing at #22 Ole Miss, at Idaho State and at Southeast Missouri, which won the Ohio Valley Conference title.

 

    Since arriving on the UCA campus as a student-athlete in 2004, Brown has immersed himself in the football program here as not only a player, but as a coach. While playing at UCA, he was a record breaking starting quarterback and a 3-time All American player who was UCA’s first player to participate in the prestigious Senior Bowl. 

    As a coach, Brown’s offenses totaled 20,969 yards and averaged 437 yards per game during his years as offensive coordinator, while having three different quarterbacks being named first-team All-Southland Conference (Hayden Hildebrand 2017, Wynrick Smothers 2012, Nathan Dick 2011). Hildebrand was the SLC Player of the Year while Smothers was the SLC Offensive Player of the Year.

    During his years as quarterbacks coach at UCA, the Bears’ quarterbacks averaged 3,211 passing yards per season, eclipsing the 3,000-yard yard plateau six times, for a total of 25,691 yards. With Brown as the Bears’ offensive coordinator, UCA had 17 All-SLC offensive first or second team selections, including a Freshman, Player and two Offensive Linemen of the Year selections. The Bears ranked in the Top 10 in  FCS scoring three times in four years, and ranked seventh in the country in total offense in 2017.

    Brown coached four of the top six total offense seasons in school history, and he was the starting quarterback for the other two seasons. He also played or coached in seven of the top 10 passing offensive seasons in program history. Brown has been a part of three Southland Conference Championships, one as a player in 2008 and two as an assistant coach in 2012 and 2017.  Brown has been a part of all four of UCA’s NCAA postseason playoff victories, two as a player (Division II) and two as a coach (FCS).  Equally as impressive as his coaching credentials are his numbers from his playing days at UCA. Brown was a three-time All-American who threw for 10,558 yards and 100 touchdowns in his career, both records for a collegiate quarterback in the state of Arkansas. The Bears went 30-10 with Brown as the starting quarterback. 

 

    Brown was the SLC Offensive Player of the Year in 2007 and the SLC Player of the Year in 2008, when he was also a Walter Payton Award finalist. Brown also owns school records for touchdown passes in a game (7) and most yards of total offense (490).

    Before UCA moved to Division I in 2006, Brown was named the Gulf South Conference Freshman of the year in 2005.

    Brown was UCA’s first player to receive an invitation to the Senior Bowl All-Star game in the NCAA Division I era and was the leading passer in the 2009 game. He was also selected for the East-West Shrine Game that same year. He was a free-agent signee of both the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints.

    Brown received his bachelor’s degree in business education from the University of Central Arkansas in 2009 after graduating from Russellville High School in 2004. 

    He and his  wife, Jessica (also a UCA graduate) have two children, daughter Rylee and son Luke.