The head coach of the Sam Houston Bearkats soccer team Tom Brown has resigned from his position on Wednesday with immediate effect. Brown was hired in 2008 and was the second coach in program history after replacing coach Marcia Oliveira.
“After much consideration, I have decided to resign from my position as head soccer coach here at Sam Houston,” Brown said in a statement published on Gobearkats.com.
Brown posted a record of 103-136- 22 ties overall in the 14 seasons and a 64-64-11 record in conference matchups. The Bearkats went 8-10 record in the 2021 season including a 6-4 record and qualifying to the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
Brown went 9-7 in his first season as head coach of Sam Houston State and fell short in Southland Conference tournament play.
Brown’s second season in 2009 was a more successful season making it to the Southland Conference Semifinals by defeating UTSA before falling to Texas State University.
Brown posted his most winningest season in 2015 when he led the Bearkats to a 10-6-5 record until they ultimately fell to Southeastern Louisiana University 3-1in penalty kicks in the Southland Conference Championship.
Brown would have his biggest victory in the 2017 season when they beat Jackson State 8-0 as well as defeating Southeastern Louisiana for the first time since 2014.
The Bearkats would again make it to the Southland Conference Championship in 2020 but they would ultimately lose again to Southeastern Louisiana 3-0. This time the Bearkats would make it with a 7-6-1 record.
Brown’s team made conference tournaments 11 out of his 14 seasons as the head coach of Sam Houston. Brown’s final win as head coach of the Bearkats came against rival SFA in Huntsville Oct. 30, 2021, by a score of 2-1.
“He took over this program while it was still in the early days of the building process and provided stability as we were continuing to grow as an athletic department,” Director of Athletics Bobby Williams said in a statement published to Gobearkats.com.
Sam Houston will play the 2022 season in the WAC before moving to Conference-USA during the 2023 season.
“This next hiring comes at an important time for this program,” Williams said in the same statement. “With our transition from the WAC to Conference USA, we will be moving into a league that has been historically strong in women’s soccer.”
Brown’s replacement has not been yet announced but the search has already begun.
