FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason head coach Bill Brown is among an elite group of collegiate baseball head coaches, not just active, but all-time.
 
Brown is in his 40th season at the helm of the George Mason baseball program, and his 44th season overall of being involved with the Patriots.
 
As part of our celebration, Mason alumni and friends can donate $40 in honor of coach Brown's 40th season.  All proceeds will support the baseball program.
 
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Mason Athletics is recognizing Brown between games of the Patriots' doubleheader against Richmond on Friday, May 21 at Spuhler Field. The first game is scheduled for 1 pm.
 
After playing two seasons for the Patriots as a catcher and then serving as an assistant coach for two years, Brown was named the third coach in program history when he took over the program at the age of 24 when Walt Masterson retired in 1981.
 
A Mason alum, with a degree in government and political science, Brown has special ties to the Green and Gold. 
 
A native of Vienna, Virginia, Brown played baseball at George C. Marshall High School and helped the team to the Virginia state finals his senior year.  He arrived at George Mason as a player in 1978 after playing at the University of Georgia and Allegany Community College.  Brown was selected NAIA All-District catcher after helping the Patriots to 36 wins his junior year.
 
Brown was elected to the Washington, D.C Home Plate Club Sandlot Hall of Fame and to the George C. Marshall High Scholl Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.
 
With an overall record of 1,055-1016-7, it's been 28 years since he surpassed the program's founder, Raymond H. "Hap" Spuhler for most wins during the 1993 season.  Spuhler was 318-169-3 in 12 seasons, before George Mason entered Division I.
 
For Brown, his career has spanned nearly 2,100 games. 
 
Frame-by-frame, that's over 18,734 innings, broken down by every pitch, hit, run and out.   
 
There have been only 22 head coaches in the history of Division I baseball who have coached for 40 or more years.  Among active head coaches, Brown is one of only three with four decades or more of experience as a skipper. 
 
The trio of Brown, Tony Rossi at Siena and John Anderson at Minnesota, have combined for 132 years as the dugout boss for their respective clubs.  Each has spent their entire career with one program. 
 
Rossi, the longest-tenured Division I baseball head coach in history, has held his position at Siena for 52 years, coaching his first game in 1969-70.  John Anderson, like Brown, began his career with the Gophers in 1981-82.
 
Brown recorded his 1,000th career victory on March 7, 2018 when Mason defeated Towson, 14-7, at Spuhler Field.  At the time, Brown became one of only 16 active coaches in Division I baseball with at least 1,000 wins.
 
Brown won his first game as a head coach on March 14, 1982 when the Patriots played at St. Augustine's in Raleigh, N.C.  He posted his 500th victory against VCU on May 21, 1999 at Spuhler Field. 
 
Only 54 head coaches in the history of Division I baseball have reached the milestone of 1,000 victories.  Brown is also one of only 10 of the coaches who have hit the mark that are active.
 
Brown was honored as Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year six times and guided the Patriots to two CAA titles, while finishing second three other times.  He has been a member of three conferences during his tenure, the ECAC, CAA and Atlantic 10.
 
In 2014, the Patriots joined the Atlantic 10 Conference.  Brown continued the success that he had as one of the most decorated coaches in CAA history.
 
The Patriots posted a 34-22 record and won the conference tournament title in their inaugural season in the league and advanced to the Houston Regional, Brown's seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Brown has led Mason to the NCAA Tournament in 1985, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2009 and 2014. 
 
While the faces have changed, the objective has remained the same.
 
Under Brown, the Patriots have posted 30 or more victories in a season 15 times, including a school-record 42 wins and an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament in 2009.  Mason was nationally-ranked for the first time in school history that year, ranking in the top-30 in both the National College Baseball Writer's Association and Collegiate Baseball polls.
 
In baseball, you often hear the term "keep the line moving" when a team is looking for a rally.
 
Hundreds of players have benefited from the knowledge that Brown has been able to pass along over the years.  Since Brown has been the head coach of the Patriots, 68 players have signed professional contracts after playing at Mason, with 47 players drafted and 21 players signed as free agents.  A record of six players were drafted off the 2009 team.
 
Six of Brown's players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball.  Justin Bour, Shawn Camp, Mike Colangelo, Mike Draper, Chris O'Grady and Chris Widger made it to the Major Leagues.
 
In 2005, while playing with the Chicago White Sox, Widger became the first Mason player to compete in the World Series.
 
Draper was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1988 and became the first former Patriot to reach the majors when he played with the New York Mets in 1993.  Widger played with five MLB teams, the Seattle Mariners (1995-96, 2000), Montreal Expos (1997-2000), New York Yankees (2002), St. Louis Cardinals (2003) and Chicago White Sox (2005).
 
Colangelo played for the Anaheim Angels in 1999 and also saw action with the San Diego Padres (2001) and Oakland Athletics (2002).  Bour played for the Miami Marlins (2014-18), Philadelphia Phillies (2018) and Los Angeles Angels (2019). 
 
Camp, now the pitching coach for the Patriots, appeared in 541 games over 11 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals (2004-05), Tampa Bay Rays (2006-07), Toronto Blue Jays (2008-11), Chicago Cubs (2012-13) and Philadelphia Phillies (2014).

Brown has also seen former players make their mark in management in Major League Baseball.

Former Mason infielder Dayton Moore was named the general manager of the Kansas City Royals in 2006, and he was joined by fellow Patriots J.J. Picollo (Assistant General Manager), Lonnie Goldberg (Director of Scouting) and Ken Munoz (regional scout).  The Royals won the World Series in 2015.

Since joining the A-10, another 10 Mason players have turned professional after playing for Brown, including catcher Logan Driscoll, who became the highest draft pick in program history when he was selected by the San Diego Padres in the second round with the 73rd overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft.
 
In 2018, Brown led Mason to a second-place finish with a 16-8 mark in A-10 play, equaling the program record for wins against the conference. 
 
Twice in the last 12 years, a Mason player has been in line for the Johnny Bench Award as the best collegiate catcher.  Chris Henderson was a finalist in 2009 and Driscoll was a semifinalist for the award in 2019.
 
Brown continues to pass along his love and knowledge of the game, working with community and local baseball organizations, summer camps and coaching clinics.  He and his staff actively take part in the development and promotion of baseball throughout the Northern Virginia community.