Sumner County Athletic Director Mike Brown with his 2023 TIAAA Athletic Director of the Year award. Courtesy of Sumner County Schools The former Hendersonville basketball coach, middle school principal and athletics director is still less than a year into his retirement. He’s also still being recognized for his decades of service.“Sumner County had a need […]
The former Hendersonville basketball coach, middle school principal and athletics director is still less than a year into his retirement. He’s also still being recognized for his decades of service.“Sumner County had a need for a district-level athletic director because there was no one at central office that solely dealt with athletics,” Brown said. “Being an ex-coach and retired administrator, I was able to retire with the state and (could) still work part-time, so I did that part-time and was the first athletic director for the Sumner County District. I was on the (TMSAA) committee, did that (for) five years, and saw the middle school section really grow. It was a great time.”“Sometimes if I’m in the store, I’ll still hear ‘Hey, Coach Brown, how are you?’” Brown says. “That’s someone who knows me from my coaching and teaching days and not as an administrator.”A junior high and high school basketball coach in the region for two decades, with 13 years also spent as track coach, Brown has a lifetime of classroom experience – in physical education and science, which was his minor at the University of Tennessee – as well as rich administrative experience as both a middle school principal and athletics director.Brown is one of 10 TSSAA Distinguished Service Award winners for the 2024-25 academic year.Even after retiring on a full-time basis in 2017, Brown – whose two sons, Ryan and Austin, were athletes in the district – is less than a full year into his full-time retirement after serving seven years as Sumner County Athletics Director, a post for which one of his highlights includes the 2023 Athletic Director of the Year award by the Tennessee Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.“There are kids you get close to – the best player on our basketball team that went to the state (tournament), Kerry West, right before I took that job and it was his senior year, I married his sister, Christy,” Brown said. “He made the all-state tournament team, was an All-American at Belmont. Then he was my assistant coach for two years before he took over and coached Hendersonville for 18 years.“Two summers ago, I flew to Orlando at the invitation of a former player and got to see him get his brigadier general star. We have a lot of kids that are extremely successful, and (I) have really enjoyed a lot of those relationships.”Occasionally, roaming the aisles of an area grocery store, Mike Brown is greeted with a familiar refrain.The TSSAA salutes Mike Brown for his contributions over many years as a coach, teacher and administrator.“I guess you could say we have a pretty good relationship. But there’s a lot of kids from that team I still know and see. Even had some of their kids in middle school. Some kids you just get really close to, and some after they move away and move back. You always have that bond.In Middle Tennessee, particularly around Hendersonville and Sumner County, Brown is known for wearing many hats – all of them in service to the youth and communities.
