Former NFL Running back Named Offensive Coordinator

At the 2006 football season opener on September 2 at Ursinus, a new face will grace the sidelines, directing the Crusaders’ efforts when they have the ball. Seasoned football veteran Gary Brown has been named offensive coordinator.

Gary Brown

Brown, a standout back at Penn State from 1987 to 1990, played eight seasons in the NFL from 1991 through 1999 and rushed for 4,300 yards and 21 touchdowns as a member of three teams. An assistant coach at Lycoming College for the past three seasons, Brown replaces Ron Miller ’93, who resigned in April after seven seasons to become head football coach at West York High School.

“We are extremely fortunate to add someone with Gary’s credentials and knowledge of the game to our staff,” said head coach Steve Briggs, who will be entering his 17th season as head coach. “He has been a winner at all levels of football. His experience at Division III will be beneficial as we look forward to joining the Liberty League in 2007.”

Brown earned a bachelor of science degree in sports administration from Lock Haven University in 2005, and currently resides in Montoursville with his wife, Kim, and their three children.

— Jim Miller
Sports Information Director

Other recent coaching appointments:
Amy Cohen – Field Hockey
Cohen is a 2002 graduate of Lafayette College with a bachelor’s degree in history, where she was a four-year starting goalkeeper from 1998 to 2001 and helped the Leopards to the Patriot League championship in 1999 while earning second-team All-Mideast Region honors. She ranks second all-time in program history with 541 saves and twice finished among the NCAA Division I leaders in goals against average.

She served as an assistant coach at the University of Delaware for the last four seasons. For the past seven years, Cohen has been a coach in the U.S. Field Hockey Futures program and has worked a number of summer camps, including the University of Delaware Elite Camp.

She earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Delaware in 2005.

Ryan Gast – Men’s Lacrosse
A 2002 graduate of Mercyhurst College with a bachelor’s degree in art education, Gast played midfield for the Lakers for three years after beginning his college career at Nazareth College. After graduating, Gast worked with the England Under-19 national team while serving as a local development officer in Manchester, United Kingdom, during 2002-03.

Gast comes to Susquehanna after serving as an assistant coach at Medaille College for the past two seasons.

After serving a year as head junior varsity coach at Canisius High School in Buffalo, Gast moved to Medaille while pursuing a master’s degree in special education.

Brenda Brewer – Women’s Lacrosse
Brewer served as head women’s lacrosse coach at The University of Scranton for five seasons (2000-02, 2005-06), where she compiled a 50-31 record and led the Royals to the 2003 Middle Atlantic Conference championship and an NCAA tournament berth in addition to three trips to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoffs (2001, 2002, 2005).

She earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Bloomsburg University in 1991, where she was a member of the field hockey team, and a master in business administration from Scranton in 1998. Brewer will also serve as assistant director of athletics at Susquehanna.
— Jim Miller

New Athletic Conference Named

The athletics association in which Susquehanna University will compete beginning in 2007 now has a name. Landmark Conference is the new NCAA Division III athletic association formed last December by seven like-minded colleges and universities. Susquehanna will participate in baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey, indoor and outdoor track and field, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. As previously announced, the Crusader football program will enter the Liberty League beginning next fall.

The most literal inspiration for the Landmark Conference’s name came from the many well-known physical landmarks of the Mid-Atlantic region encompassed by the conference. The name also reflects the significance of the institutions’ decision to align themselves with other colleges and universities of similar size, educational philosophies, and high academic standards. It highlights the Landmark Conference’s intention to stand out not only in athletics, but also in academics, emphasizing educational achievement and the important role athletics plays as part of the undergraduate experience – and as a defining characteristic of the member institutions.