Two-time Olympian Natasha Brown is in her 15th year at Drake as the Bulldogs’ head men’s and women’s track coach. Brown, a Des Moines native, returned home after seven years as an assistant track coach at the University of Missouri from 1993-2000. She also served as an assistant coach at Northwestern (La.) State University in 1992-93.
During her tenure as head women’s track and field coach, the Bulldogs have set over 40 school records including three women's outdoor, two men's outdoor, one women's indoor and one men's indoor records during the 2013 season. The Bulldogs set a men’s indoor record with Drake Relays champion Brogan Austin’s school record in the indoor 3,000 meters in 2014.
Austin won a pair of 2014 MVC Indoor titles by sweeping the 3,000 and 5,000-meter races to earn Most Valuable Performer honors at the meet.
In 2013, the Bulldogs also earned four titles at the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship including Brogan Austin (5,000 meters), Ryan Cook (high jump), Sarah Yeager (100-meter hurdles) and the men's 4x400-meter relay team of Kai Asberry, Steven Jordan, Travis Marsh and Brett Wright. MVC Indoor Championship crowns were claimed by Sarah Yeager (60 meters hurdles), Brogan Austin (5,000 meters), Isaac Twombly (weight throw) and the men's 4x400-meter relay. Twombly was also named the most outstanding male field athlete for the MVC Indoor meet.
Drake qualified four men and two women to the 2013 NCAA Regional Outdoor meet and sent Isaac Twombly to both the NCAA Division I National Championship indoor and outdoor meets. In 2012, Drake qualified five men and three women to the NCAA Regional Outdoor meet as well.
Under Brown's leadership, Drake senior Jon DeGrave placed 10th at the 2011 outdoor NCAA West Regional in 400-meter hurdles, qualifying for the NCAA National Championship. He also ran his personal best and second fastest time in school history in the 400-meter hurdles (50.93) at the Drake Relays to earn MVC Men's Track Athlete of the Week honors. Brown's coaching team also led Drake senior Ari Curtis to placing 10th in the 400-meter hurdles, while setting a school record of 57.89 for the fifth time during the season at the 2010 NCAA Division I Championship meet. Curtis set a school record of 1:00.00 the first time she ever ran the 400 intermediate hurdles on April 3, 2010 and continued to improve all season.
In 2005, a school record seven events qualified at the NCAA Midwest Regional Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In her first year as head coach of both the men’s and women’s track teams in 2004, Drake had three athletes advance to the NCAA Midwest Regional.
In 2003 Regina Hill became the first Drake athlete to win an individual title in the Missouri Valley Conference women’s outdoor meet since 1996 when she captured the 100 and ran on the winning 4x100 relay, which set a Southern Illinois stadium record.
The former Natasha Kaiser, a native of Des Moines, graduated from Roosevelt High School where she was a nine-time Iowa state high school champion before a distinguished career at the University of Missouri.
Brown has represented the United States on 16 national teams, highlighted by running a leg on the U.S. silver medal women’s 4x400 relay at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Brown was ranked second in the world in the 400 in 1993 after her silver medal performance at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. She also won a gold medal as a member of the 4x400 relay team that established a world championship record of 3:16.71 at the 1993 World Championships. She also was a member of the 4x400 relay team, which set an American record en route to winning the silver medal at the 1997 World Indoor Championships.
Brown competed in 16 Drake Relays, winning the special 400 at the 1990, 1993 and 1998 Drake Relays, while being inducted into the 1995 Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame.
She was ranked in the U.S. top 10 in the 400 indoor and outdoor eight times from 1989 to 1994. Brown was a six-time NCAA All-American at Missouri, setting a national collegiate record of 51.92 in the 400 at the 1989 NCAA Indoor Championships. She was a five-time Big Eight Conference champion and was named the 1989 Big Eight Female Athlete of the Year.
She was the first recipient of the Gerry Cooley Award, presented annually to the outstanding high school girls’ performer, at the 1985 Drake Relays competing for Roosevelt High School. Brown won the girls’ high school invitational 100 in the 1984 Drake Relays, while anchoring Roosevelt to victory in the inaugural girls’ high school sprint medley relay. She led the Riders to Drake Relays sprint medley and 4x400 relay crowns in 1985.
Natasha and her husband, Brian, have a daughter, Elexandria, and two sons, Quinton and Kristian.
