Mack Brown to Receive Davey O’Brien Legends Award
FORT WORTH, Texas (Jan. 10, 2025) – The Davey O’Brien Foundation has announced that National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Coach Mack Brown is this year’s Davey O’Brien Legends Award recipient. Brown is the first coach to be named a Legends Award recipient since the Foundation expanded the award’s criteria in 2024.
The Legends Award recognizes a college or professional quarterback or coach who has made a significant contribution to the game of football, distinguished himself as an extraordinary leader and demonstrated exemplary conduct both on and off the football field. Brown will be honored at the 48th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner on Monday, Feb. 17.
A 47-year veteran of collegiate coaching, Brown served as a head coach for 36 seasons, leading programs at Texas (1998-2013), North Carolina (1988-97, 2019-24), Tulane (1985-87) and Appalachian State (1983). Brown posted an overall head coaching record of 288-155-1 (.650), and his 288 career victories rank seventh on the FBS all-time list.
The 2005 Paul W. “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year and the 2008 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year, Brown also was the 1996 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year and the 2005 and 2009 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year. He is the only coach with at least 100 victories at two FBS schools, amassing 158 wins at Texas and 113 at North Carolina.
At Texas, he steered the Longhorns to a 158-48 (.767) overall record and the 2005 national championship, culminated by a thrilling 41-38 victory over USC at the Rose Bowl in the BCS National Championship Game. The Longhorns’ victory was secured when Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award winner Vince Young scampered into the end zone with 19 second left on a fourth-down play.
In 2009, Brown guided Texas to its second National Championship Game appearance in five years. Texas finished the season 13-1, equaling the school single-season wins record with Davey O’Brien Award recipient Colt McCoy under center. During his time in Austin, the Longhorns won two Big 12 Conference titles, while winning or sharing Big 12 South Division titles six times.
Brown was 113-79-1 in his time in Chapel Hill, N.C. In Brown’s first stint as head coach of the Tar Heels, North Carolina posted a record of 69-46-1 (.599), which included three 10-win seasons, six consecutive bowl games and a Top-5 national finish.
In his career, he coached in 26 bowl games, the fifth-most all time, and collected 12 double-digit win seasons, including nine straight at Texas from 2001-09. Prior to returning to Carolina in 2019, Brown served as both a college football studio analyst and color analyst for ESPN.
His assistant coaching career included stops at Southern Miss (1975-77), Memphis (1978), Iowa State (1979-81), LSU (1982) and Oklahoma (1984).
Born in Cookeville, Tenn., Brown was a three-sport star at Putnam County High School, where he lettered three times in football. He went on to attend Vanderbilt (1969-70) before graduating from Florida State, where he lettered twice as a running back for the Seminoles (1972-73). Brown completed his bachelor's degree in education from Florida State in 1974 and earned a master's degree in administration from Southern Miss in 1976.
Brown was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 2018. Brown is also a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Longhorn Hall of Honor, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame and the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame.
One of the most respected coaches in the game, Brown has served on numerous national committees, including president of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). He has also served on the AFCA Ethics Committee and the AFCA Public Relations Committee. Brown has been a member of the NCAA Football Rules Committee and the NCAA Football Issues Committee. He has been chairman of the Football Coaches' Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of the College Football Association.
Brown was invited to coach in five postseason all-star games, including the Japan Bowl, Hula Bowl (twice) and East-West Shrine Game (twice). Brown also received the 2013 Neyland Trophy, awarded annually by the Knoxville Quarterback Club for contributions to collegiate athletics.
Brown and his wife, Sally, have four children -- Matt, Katherine, Barbara and Chris -- and six grandchildren -- Tyler, Mack, Bailey, Caroline, Janie and Truett.
The 48th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner honoring Brown, National Quarterback Award recipient Cam Ward and High School Scholarship Award winner Clay Lindmark is Monday, Feb. 17 at The Fort Worth Club. To purchase tickets or for additional information, email Trisha Branch at trisha@daveyobrien.org.
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