(Photo Courtesy of Denver Athletics)

Denver announced on Wednesday night that longtime assistant Matt Brown will take over as the Pioneers’ next head coach following the retirement of Bill Tierney at the end of the season.

Brown, a 2005 Denver graduate, joined the coaching staff at his alma mater in 2007 as a volunteer assistant. He was promoted to a full-time assistant in 2009 when Bill Tierney took the reigns and was tabbed as the program’s associate head coach in 2011.

“This day is a dream come true,” Brown said in a press release. “I’m so thankful for this opportunity to lead a program that has meant the world to my life and my family’s life. I would first like to thank Bill Tierney and his son Trevor Tierney for having faith in me to add me to their staff in 2009. My time with Coach T has no doubt made me a better coach to prepare me for this position, but it has equally made me a better man. As I said at Bill Tierney Day a couple of weeks ago, he created a culture here that I could have only dreamed of when I played here, and I’m honored to continue and build on that culture and our program’s tradition.”

Roaming the sidelines alongside Tierney for the past 14 seasons, Brown has helped the Pioneers to three conference titles and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. That includes all five of Denver’s Championship Weekend showings and its national title in 2015.

Brown has big shoes to fill, taking over for Hall of Fame head coach Bill Tierney. Over his 42 years as a head coach, Tierney has amassed an overall record of 436-151, made 30 trips to the NCAA Tournament, 25 trips to the Quarterfinals, 15 Championship Weekend appearances, and nine appearances in the national title game. He has won seven national titles with six at Princeton and one at Denver.

With two games left in the regular season, the 2023 Denver Pioneers sit with a 7-4 record and 2-1 mark in the Big East. The Pioneers face Providence and Marquette each of the next two outings to end the regular season.