Less than two years after being announced as head coach at the nation’s largest HBCU, Vincent Brown Sr. has been fired as its head coach.
Brown posted the following message on Twitter on Wednesday morning, referring to the program as “their.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to serve the young men in the A&T football program. I have nothing but the highest hopes for their success,” Brown tweeted. “Not the results on the field that anyone expected, but my faith in how we went about our work and how we were building it is rock solid.
Shortly thereafter, North Carolina A&T released a statement from Earl Hilton III on Brown’s departure.
Vincent Brown was appointed as the head football coach at North Carolina A&T State University on January 6, 2023. He succeeded Sam Washington, becoming the 22nd head coach in the program’s history. He signed a five-year deal with a base salary of $365k per year.
In his inaugural season in 2023, Brown led the Aggies through their first year in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The team concluded the season with a 1–10 overall record and an 0–8 mark in conference play. Its lone win came against fellow HBCU and former MEAC rival Norfolk State.
The 2024 season saw North Carolina A&T striving for improvement under Brown’s leadership. They secured a notable victory against Winston-Salem State University, winning 27–20 in overtime before a sellout crowd of 21,500. This game marked Brown’s first home win and was a significant morale booster for the team.
However, that excitement was short-lived as the program continued to stumble. Those stumbles included humbling losses including a trio of HBCU football programs: a 66-24 blowout by archrival North Carolina Central, a 45-25 thumping by South Carolina State and a humbling 59–17 homecoming loss to Hampton University, which intensified scrutiny of the program’s direction. Ultimately, the team came up with an even worse record of 1-11 during Brown’s second season.
Despite these setbacks, Coach Brown remained optimistic, emphasizing the importance of progress and development within the team. He expressed confidence in his coaching staff and the players’ commitment to improvement. Earl Hilton, the North Carolina A&T AD, expressed his confidence in Brown as the losses mounted. However, others in East Greensboro felt otherwise and began pushing for Shawn Gibbs, according to HBCU Gameday sources.
HBCU Gameday will update the story as necessary.