MORGANTOWN — New West Virginia football coach Neal Brown’s arrival in Morgantown was ever-so-slightly delayed so he could attend to one final order of business in Troy, Ala.
Brown addressed Troy fans at halftime of Saturday’s basketball game against Appalachian State. He heralded the last four years as a “collective success” when the Trojans re-emerged as one of the Sun Belt Conference’s top teams.
“The last four years, my family and I have been extremely honored to be the head football coach here,” Brown said.
Officially hired by West Virginia only hours before, Brown became choked up as he thanked Troy’s fans, administrators, players, student body and even the marching band for their roles in the program posting double-digit wins across three consecutive seasons.
“I mean this: The best days for Troy University football are still to come,” Brown told the crowd.
“For my family, which is already up there, I say thank you so much. God bless and go Troy.”
In the secretive and sometimes bitter world of college coaching moves, it is unusual for a coach to have the goodwill to formally address fans before leaving for another job.
Brown’s employment became official on Saturday, when WVU announced that he had signed a six-year contract totaling $19,050,000.
Brown’s contract tops the totals of the three other new coaches in the Big 12 this offseason — Kansas’ Les Miles, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman and Texas Tech’s Matt Wells.
Brown coached at Troy for four years, finishing with a 35-16 record that included wins over Nebraska and LSU as well as a 3-0 mark in bowl games.
