New West Virginia football coach Neal Brown’s arrival in Morgantown was ever-so-slightly delayed so he could attend to one final order of business in Troy, Ala.
Brown addressed Troy fans at halftime of Saturday afternoon’s basketball game against Appalachian State.
An emotional @NealBrown_WVU addressed Trojan Nation at halftime of today's men's basketball game …
"From my family and I, I thank you, thank you so much, God bless and Go Troy."#OneTROY pic.twitter.com/v0yAgrzDun
— Troy Trojans Football 8x⚔️ (@TroyTrojansFB) January 5, 2019
“The last four years, my family and I have been extremely honored to be the head football coach here,” Brown said.
Brown went on to thank Troy’s fans, administrators, players, student body and even the marching band for their role in his success before assuring them about the program’s future.
“I mean this. The best days for Troy University football are still to come,” Brown told the crowd. “For my family, which is already up there, I say thank you so much. God bless and go Troy.”
In the secretive and sometimes bitter world of college coaching searches and hires, it is unusual for a coach to have the goodwill to formally address fans before leaving for another job.
Brown’s employment became official on Saturday, when WVU announced that he had signed a six-year contract totaling $19,050,000. Brown’s contract tops the totals of the three other new coaches in the Big 12 this offseason — Kansas’ Les Miles, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman and Texas Tech’s Matt Wells.
Brown coached at Troy for four years, finishing with a 35-16 record that included wins over Nebraska and LSU as well as a 3-0 mark in bowl games.
WVU has yet to announce the time for Brown’s introductory press conference.