Debbie Brown Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Arizona State '82

Debbie Brown is one of only a handful of coaches in the volleyball ranks that has been able to parlay a dominating playing career with an equally impressive coaching resume.

A two-time winner of the Mikasa Award as college volleyball's best all-around player, Brown notched her 500th career win as a head coach during the 2006 campaign, and her 509 win total ranks her 27th in that category among active coaches. In fact, only two active coaches have more wins in as many seasons than the co-captain of the 1980 United States Olympic team.

While her credentials are virtually unmatched among collegiate coaches and players across the country, Brown - who signed a multi-year contract extension in the summer of 2006 - has turned into one of the nation's elite mentors, leading her teams to 20 consecutive winning records, 13 finishes in the top 25 of the AVCA national rankings, and 20 invitations to the NCAA Championship (including a current streak of 15 consecutive bids).

Now in her 17th season at Notre Dame and 23nd overall as a collegiate head coach, Brown has compiled a 509-219 (.699) career record, including a 392-136 (.742) mark at Notre Dame. Her squads have reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Championship six times, highlighted by a trip to the 1993 quarterfinals. Fourteen regular-season conference championships and 13 league tournament titles are among the accomplishments of Brown-led teams, which have won 20 or more matches 17 times in the last 20 seasons.

When taking over the reigns at Notre Dame, Brown inherited a program that had just five winning seasons in its first 11 years of varsity volleyball action but has since turned it into a perennial BIG EAST powerhouse. Nine of her teams have been ranked in the AVCA's final poll. During regular season play, the Irish have cracked the top 10 in consecutive campaigns under Brown, while peaking at an all-time best fifth in 1995 and sixth in 1996 in the Volleyball Magazine rankings. In 2005, her squad achieved its highest-ever listing in the AVCA poll, moving up to fifth after entering the season unranked (it was the first time any school had ever cracked the AVCA top five after being unranked in the preseason).

That same 2005 version of the Irish put together one of the best campaigns in program history, posting the school's first 30-win season since 1994. All four of the team's defeats came in five-game matches. ND went 5-1 against top-15 teams and earned an all-time Irish high No. 6 seed in the NCAA Championship. Notre Dame played host to the first two rounds and advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 1997 before falling in five games to Wisconsin. The Irish - which rattled off a 15-match winning streak and spent a program-record 11 weeks in the AVCA's top 10 - went 13-1 while winning their 10th regular season BIG EAST Conference championship in 11 years of league membership. In a clash between two top-10 teams, Notre Dame handed Louisville a five-game defeat in the conference tournament final to give Brown her ninth BIG EAST Tournament title.

The 2005 squad also featured the first player in program history - 2006 graduate Lauren Brewster - to earn both athletic and academic All-American accolades.

Brown was recognized as the 2005 BIG EAST volleyball coach of the year - the league's first five-time winner of the award - and named the top coach in the AVCA's Northeast Region while becoming a finalist for the AVCA's national award.

She has helped Notre Dame to a variety of dominating performances, including a 157-11 (.935) record in regular season action against conference teams (27-0 vs. Midwestern Collegiate Conference, 130-11 vs. BIG EAST Conference). That includes an 88-3 (.967) record at home and, at one point, a 79-match winning streak against conference foes (regular season and postseason), which ranks as the third-longest conference winning streak in Division I volleyball history (AIAW or NCAA). The longest losing streak suffered by any Irish squad stands at four matches, which happened only once over the past 16 seasons.

Overall, the Irish are 189-33 (.851) in the Joyce Center under Brown, including winning streaks of 36 and 27 matches. Against unranked teams at home, Notre Dame holds a 179-12 (.877) record in the Brown era.

Since becoming a member of the BIG EAST Conference in 1995, Notre Dame has opened league play with an 11-0 run in all but two seasons (with 11+ matches on the league schedule), going on to win 10 regular-season titles to go along with the nine tournament championships. The Irish have won 45 team BIG EAST statistical crowns, as well as 27 individual statistical championships. The league's player of the year has been from Notre Dame six times, while Irish student-athletes have garnered 43 all-conference accolades, including 26 first-team honors.

Brown has seen her Irish players gain All-America accolades on 12 occasions, with Brewster becoming the first Notre Dame player to be selected as an AVCA All-American (third team in 2004, second team in 2005). Three of the last four seasons have seen multiple Irish players earn All-America recognition from the AVCA, a feat never previously accomplished in program history.

Additionally, Brown's players have earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors three times, while they have won the conference player-of-the-year award nine times and been named the top player in the league tournament on 12 occasions. In all, Brown-era Irish players have combined for 57 all-conference honors, including 35 first-team selections. Also, Notre Dame student-athletes have garnered all-region or all-district recognition from the AVCA 44 times since Brown's arrival.

Under her tutelage, Irish student-athletes have earned three invitations to join the U.S. National Team program and have made four trips to the U.S. Olympic Festival.

Brown has turned Notre Dame into one of the popular choices for top recruits in the country. Since Volleyball Magazine began compiling its "Fab 50" list in 1990, 23 honorees have join the Irish program, which ranks 15th among national programs. In the six years that Volleyball Magazine has ranked incoming recruiting classes, the Irish have been mentioned five times, including the third-best squad in 2006, fifth in 2002, and ninth in 2000. PrepVolleyball.com recognized the 2006 incoming class fifth in the nation.

Since the NCAA began keeping official national statistics in 1994, Brown's Irish teams have been mentioned in the final listings 20 times and individuals have made 17 cameos. Among the 22 combined top-15 finishes were Notre Dame's first two national statistical crowns, which both came in 2003. The Irish led Division I with a team blocking average of 3.72 (Cornell was second with 3.52), while Brewster was tops in individual blocking with a 1.78 mark.

The Irish record books have steadily been under construction since Brown stepped on campus, as all-time best marks in over 120 team and individual categories have been eclipsed. A testament to her recruiting and coaching prowess is the fact that nearly all of the top players in the Notre Dame career record book have played for Brown. That group includes 13 of the 16 players to have registered 1,000 career kills, all six who notched both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs, the top six competitors on the career hitting-percentage list, six of the top seven on both the assists and service aces lists, and each of the top 10 student-athletes in career digs.

Christy Peters, one of the top players in Irish volleyball history, played at Notre Dame during Brown's first four seasons and was tabbed a third-team All-American in both 1993 and 1994. She still stands as the program's career leader in kills (1,683) and her digs mark stood 11 years before broken by 2006 graduate Meg Henican, who ended her career with 22 of the 25 Irish dig records.

Among the other standouts coached by Brown have been Jessica Fiebelkorn (1992), two-time BIG EAST Player-of-the-Year Jaimie Lee (1997), Denise Boylan (2000), Kristen Kinder (2003), Emily Loomis (2003), Lauren Kelbley (2003-05), and current junior Adrianna Stasiuk (2005) -- all of whom have earned honorable mention All-America status. Lee and Boylan were invited to train with the United States national team program during the summer of 1998, while the former earned a spot on the 1997 World University Games team. Kristy Kreher (1998-2001) also was one of just 20 players named to the USA Junior National Team in 2000.

Seven of Brown's former Irish players have gone on to play professionally. Angie (Harris) Akers is currently active in the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), while Lee was until 2005 and 2004 graduates Jessica and Kristen Kinder also played briefly on the beach. Akers - who finished in the top 20 of the AVP standings in her first four seasons on tour - was the 2002 AVP Rookie of the Year, a honor Lee earned one year later. Three former Notre Dame competitors were active in the United States Professional Volleyball league in 2002; Boylan and Kreher were members of the Minnesota Chill and Molly Stark played for the St. Louis Quest. Five of Brown's former Irish assistants have gone on to be head coaches: Robin Davis (Boise State), Devin Scruggs (Nevada), Steve Schlick (Cal Poly), Sue Woodstra (Pittsburgh, California, Humboldt State), and 2004 AVCA National Coach of the Year Jim McLaughlin (Washington), who led the Huskies to the 2005 NCAA title.

Brown also coached several premier players at Arizona State, including three-time Olympian Tammy (Webb) Liebl (1988-96) and All-Americans Christy Nore and Regina Stahl.

The Sun Devils were ranked among the top programs in the nation for six seasons, and in 1986 Brown led the Sun Devils to a 27-7 record and was named Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year. She compiled a 117-83 record en route to five NCAA Tournament berths while at Arizona State.

After being a consultant since 1986, Brown took a leave of absence in 1988 to serve as an assistant coach for the United States National Team before accepting a full-time national team position in 1989. Brown's duties centered on helping improve the national team's defense and her efforts played a role in a United States bronze-medal finish at the 1990 World Championship in China. She also coached national teams in the 1985 and 1991 Olympic Festivals.

Since picking up the sport late in her high school days, Brown has become one of the most respected and accomplished individuals in all of volleyball. She grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of El Segundo to become one of the nation's top prep players. She competed as a 17-year-old for the United States at the 1974 World Championship in Mexico City and a year later played on the adidas team that won the USVBA title.

After graduating from El Segundo High School, she captained the University of Southern California to a 72-1 two-year record and national titles in both 1976 and 1977, including a 38-0 run in 1977 that, until 1998, was the only unbeaten season in Division I women's volleyball history. Her 1977 squad is still considered one of the all-time greatest at any level of volleyball. Brown (then Debbie Landreth) twice was named a collegiate All-American and received the Mikasa Award as the "nation's best all-around player" in 1976 and 1977.

The 5-foot-8 outside hitter left USC prior to her junior year, accepting an invitation to train full-time with the U.S. national team. She co-captained the team to a fifth-place finish at the 1978 World Championships. A year later, she and her teammates -- including all-time greats Debbie Green, Flo Hyman, Sue Woodstra and Rita Crockett -- qualified for the Olympics in Moscow and were considered serious medal contenders before the U.S. elected to boycott the games. Four of Brown's former USA teammates went on to become college head coaches, while Debbie Green is in her 22nd season as an assistant at Long Beach State, and Diane (McCormick) French is the technical director for the U.S. national team.

After serving as co-captain of the 1980 Olympic team, Brown completed her degree in physical education at Arizona State in 1982. An undergraduate, she began her coaching career as an assistant under Dale Flickinger at ASU, filling that role from 1980-82 before serving in the same capacity at Central Arizona College during the 1982 season. She returned to Arizona State as head coach in 1983.

Her international experience and travels has afforded her the opportunity to coach and play in 22 countries across the world. In honor of her work, Brown was selected as an Olympic Torchbearer for the 2002 Winter Olympic Torch Relay when it traveled through the Northern Indiana area.

In May of 1995, USA Volleyball named Brown an "All-Time Great Volleyball Player," the highest honor given by the organization. Brown and fellow honoree Karch Kiraly, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and beach volleyball legend, were recognized at the U.S. Open Championships in Springfield, Mass., and had their photos and records added to the Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Mass. Established in 1954, the "All-Time Great" designation honors players with Olympic, national team or All-America honors, U.S. Open Championships, and overall dominance during a particular era. Among the 51 previous winners before Brown were Hyman, Woodstra, Green, Crockett, and Laurel Brassey - all former teammates.

Brown earned USVBA All-America honors eight times and won the USVBA's Kilgore Sportsmanship Award in 1983. A six-time USVBA first-team All-American, Brown was a member of the USVBA Board of Directors and the U.S. Olympic Committee's Athlete Advisory Council. She served a two-year term (1995-96) as president of the American Volleyball Coaches Association and was a member of its All-America selection committee.

In 2003, Brown was recognized for her outstanding career by the NCAA with the Silver Anniversary Award, which annually recognizes six distinguished student-athletes for accomplishments since concluding their collegiate playing days 25 years ago.

Brown played for the 1975, 1985 and 1986 USVBA national-championship teams. In 1992, she joined several of her former Olympic squad teammates to capture the USVBA senior division national title in Reno, Nev. Recognizing Brown's effort and success, the Notre Dame Monogram Club bestowed upon her an honorary monogram at the annual club banquet in 1999.

Brown has been actively involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life, serving as a motivational speaker and coach at national banquets and camps. She also volunteers for Rebuilding Together, a home-rehabilitation program in South Bend. Brown and her husband of 26 years, Dennis, have two sons, Connor and Ryan.