North Carolina A&T State Chancellor Stanley F. Battle announced the hiring of Wheeler Brown as the school's new director of intercollegiate athletics at a press conference held at the Bryan Fitness and Wellness Center Monday afternoon.

Brown had served as the interim director of athletics since last November. Before taking over the role of interim AD, he served as the department's associate athletics director for internal affairs and compliance for five years.

Brown graduated from N.C. A&T in 1979 with a degree in health and physical education. Before graduating, he competed for four years as an offensive tackle for the Aggies football team. He was a part of N.C. A&T's first MEAC football championship in 1975. The Baltimore native earned first-team All-MEAC honors in 1978. Twenty five years later, he was inducted into the N.C. A&T Hall of Fame.

"It is always an honor to come back and serve your alma mater in any capacity," said Brown. "To be named athletics director is a little more special because I am a product of North Carolina A&T athletics. I really want to build our future on the strong traditions of the past."

Brown began his professional career as a teacher and coach at C.L. Harper High School in Atlanta. Five years later he became the head men's basketball coach at Howard Community College in Columbia, Md. In 10 seasons, he compiled a 191-110 record.

The foundation for his ascension to director of athletics began in 1996 when he accepted a position as an assistant athletics director and assistant men's basketball coach at Wheeling and Jesuit University. He spent five years there before being hired as an associate athletics director at Bowie State University in 2001. A year later, he returned to his alma mater as an associate athletics director.

PERKINS NAMED GRAMBLING INTERIM AD:

Senior Woman Administrator and former long-time assistant basketball coach Sharon Perkins has been named interim director of athletics at Grambling State University, President Dr. Horace A. Judson announced Friday.

Perkins, named the department's SWA in the fall of 2007, will be responsible for overseeing sport management and the daily internal operation of the Gramblin athletic department, which fields 18 varsity athletic programs. She succeeds Troy Mathieu who resigned to pursue other opportunities.

A veteran of more than 14 years in Division I athletics, Perkins began her athletic career on the administrative side as a graduate assistant women's golf coach at GSU from 1994-95. In 1996, she accepted a position at Grant Parish High School in Dry Prong, La. and wore several hats during her two-year stint at the school by serving as head coach in both girl's basketball and track along with teaching physical education. Perkins returned to her alma mater in 1997 as an assistant coach for the Lady Tiger basketball team under former head women's basketball coach David "Rusty" Ponton.

Since returning to Grambling , Perkins was an invaluable member on the Lady Tiger coaching staff for the past 11 years as she was responsible for coordinating the team's day-to-day administrative duties off the court in addition to assisting the team with on-court instruction. During the offseason, Perkins also served as camp coordinator for Ponton's Girl's All-Star Basketball Camp.

A native of Lake Charles, La., Perkins graduated from Grambling in 1994 with a B.S. in Management in addition to receiving a M.S. in Sports Administration in 1995. Perkins also obtained a M.S. in Developmental Education with a concentration in Guidance and Counseling from GSU in 2004 and also holds a certification in Guidance Counseling on the elementary and secondary educational level in the state of Louisiana. She has a seven-year-old daughter, Alexia.

The university has begun the process of conducting a comprehensive national search to fill the Director of Athletics position.

© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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