He has beaten the likes of Pete Sampras and Jim Courier in his playing days. He won the doubles title at the Volvo Invitational in 1990. As an LSU graduate, he was ranked as high as No. 45 in the world in doubles — the highest-ever ranking a former Tiger tennis player has garnered.
The man, the myth, the legend — meet Tiger tennis head coach Jeff Brown.
It began in 1985 when Brown began playing for the LSU Tigers. Brown played the Southeastern Conference No. 4 singles championship with a stress fracture in his foot and won the title. He also was named to the All-SEC singles team that season.
His accomplishments as a player continued into his sophomore season as he won the SEC No. 3 doubles championship.
“My first two [seasons] were a lot of getting used to the work load of how much and how intense the practices were,” Brown said. “We had success since we won the SEC my freshman year. The second year was a little bit of a let down because we had so much success my freshman year, winning the SEC. The second year was a sophomore jinx for me.”
Brown rebounded his junior season, leading the Tiger tennis team into a top-10 finish nationally. Brown cracked the rankings as a singles player for the first time. He and teammate Jason Noonan ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation that season.
In his senior year at LSU, Brown took over as the captain of the LSU men’s tennis team and led the team to a 27-2 overall record — best in LSU history. He was named to the All-SEC singles and doubles team in 1988 along with being named a Doubles All-American. He also played in the No. 1 singles and doubles spot on an LSU team that reached the 1988 NCAA championship match.
“Our last two years, we had a bunch of guys who were really committed to the project,” he said. “Getting to the finals of the NCAAs to finish the senior year was quite an accomplishment for everybody that was involved. We had four seniors, and it was a nice way to end our careers.”
Brown was a four-year letterman for the Tigers. When his college career was over, he was the third winningest singles player in LSU history with 100 career victories.
After Brown graduated from LSU in 1988, he served as an assistant coach for one year at LSU before playing on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour.
On the ATP tour, Brown won his first doubles championship with teammate Scott Melville at the Volvo Invitational in New Haven, Conn., in 1990. Three short tournaments later, he was playing on the biggest stage of his life — the U.S. Open.
Pete Sampras had just won the U.S. Open singles championship, his first Grand Slam victory ever. For tennis fans, Jim Courier was a household name. Brown and Melville showed Sampras and Courier the door with a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory.
“When we first got out there, you’re a little star struck,” Brown said. “That was [Sampras’] first Grand Slam victory at a tournament. He wasn’t number one in the world … but he was still 10 or 15 in the world; he was on the rise. In the doubles, you could tell how well he was playing. If you can pick on Courier, you could say that we were going after Courier more because Pete was just so on his game. We knew we had done something that we were going to remember. For us that was a big deal.”
In 1994, Jeff Brown came back to LSU as an assistant coach. Four short years later, he was the head coach of his alma mater.
As head coach, Brown enjoys similar success to his playing days. He was named Louisiana Coach of the Year three times (1998, 1999, 2001) and National Coach of the Year by College Tennis Magazine in 1999.
“One thing that I love about coach Brown is that he’s always, always willing to go extra after practice,” said junior Cory Ross, a member of the 2003 Tiger tennis team. “He’s influenced my game the most because I know that he’s as dedicated as everybody else. We also know the competitor he was, and we all try to pick up the little things he did to make him successful.”
Brown also was named Southeastern Conference Co-Coach of the year in 1998 and led the Tigers to two consecutive SEC championships in his first two years as coach — a first in the SEC.
“I just love competing,” Brown said. “It’s satisfying seeing someone else get the same enjoyment that I got out of college tennis. Whether they go on to be pros or not, it’s just fun to see them have success and enjoy the whole college experience.”