July 22, 2007

     Thursday’s hiring of Yale assistant Meghan Burke Brown as the Southern Connecticut State women’s basketball coach appears to be the ideal match for both parties.
     Burke Brown, a North Haven native and former standout player at Sacred Heart Academy-Hamden, is taking over a program that won the NCAA Division II national championship last season under Joe Frager, who left to take the Fairfield job. The Owls return four starters, including senior All-America forward Kate Lynch and senior forward Shamika Jackson.
     "This is a good professional move for me to start my head coaching career," Burke Brown said. "Southern is a university that is emerging and is making waves. The president (Cheryl Norton) has a great vision, and Pat Nicol, the athletic director, saw a lot in me to be able to keep the program afloat at the national level."
     Southern is getting a coach in Burke Brown, 33, who has an outstanding reputation as a recruiter, including a plethora of area ties. Burke Brown was Chris Gobrecht’s top assistant at Yale the past two years and had stops as an assistant at Miami (Fla.), Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky since graduating from St. John’s in 1996.
     "It’s a smart move for Southern," Gobrecht said. "Meghan has recruited at the highest level, and she’s well-connected in the area. I’m disappointed to lose her. She was my top assistant and my recruiting coordinator, but I’m also very proud of her. She has paid her dues as an assistant, and she’s ready for this."
     Burke Brown led Sacred Heart Academy to the Class L state title and was the Register Area Girls’ Basketball Most Valuable Player in 1992. After scoring 1,033 points at Sacred Heart, she went to St. John’s. As a senior, she averaged 12 points and eight rebounds for the Red Storm.
     She started her coaching as a volunteer assistant at Southern during the 1996-97 season before working for a season at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. She worked the next three seasons at Kentucky before becoming the recruiting coordinator at Eastern Kentucky for three seasons from 2001-03.
     Burke Brown served in the same capacity at Miami from 2003-05 before joining Gobrecht at Yale. The Bulldogs went from three wins in 2005-06 to 12 last season.
     Burke Brown sought the advice of Frager before accepting Southern’s offer Wednesday morning. Frager spent nine years at Southern, winning 189 games and making the NCAA tournament in four of the last five seasons, beating Florida Gulf Coast in the title game last March. He took the Fairfield job in April, succeeding longtime coach Dianne Nolan.
     "Joe had nothing but great things to say about the program and the university," Burke Brown said.
     Burke Brown’s official starting date at Southern is Aug. 1, but she plans to get a head start on the recruiting trail next week.
     She said she plans to implement an up-tempo transition offense and a pressure-style defense, much like Gobrecht plays at Yale. Burke Brown plans to meet with each member of the team in the upcoming weeks.
     "I’m excited about next season," Burke Brown said. "But the first thing on my plate right now is to start recruiting."