Chris Brown, the new USF women’s soccer head coach, said he knows he has big cleats to fill.

For 17 seasons, the Bulls marched to the unmistakable beat of Denise Schilte-Brown, who had a 184-97-43 record and eight NCAA Tournament appearances before she became head coach of the Tampa Bay Sun, the new entry in the USL Super League.

Brown knows the old coach very well.

They are husband and wife.

“This is not your typical new-coach situation because obviously Denise and I were always in sync in terms of the overall picture,” said Brown, who served as USF’s associate head coach for 17 seasons. “I think we’re both super passionate about the game, along with our desire to compete and win. We worked alongside each other for the better part of 25 years and we’ve always worked as a team.

“But my personality is quite a bit different than Denise’s. The style of play and the overall approach will be quite similar. Maybe the delivery of that information will come in a different way.”

As the Bulls prepare for Thursday night’s season opener against the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles at Corbett Stadium, Brown said the learning curve has been minimal. He knows the players. He knows the USF women’s soccer history. The transition has been smooth.

USF players have been the beneficiaries of that familiarity.

“Denise always had a big personality, which was amazing,” forward Serita Thurton said. “You could feel her presence. You could feel it from around the corner. Chris comes across as more reserved, more quiet.

“But even with that quiet demeanor, his presence is still known. He’s loud when he needs to be. He knows how to win. I think the familiarity is going to be very valuable for us.”

In previous seasons, Brown concentrated on the defensive end but will keep USF’s offensive ball-possession style intact.

“USF women’s soccer will still have the identity that has put the program at a high level,” goalkeeper Audrey Johnson said. “Chris absolutely has a great tactical mind, a great soccer brain. We’re super excited that he got the job.

“He is an extension of her. They were always like a duo. This team is such a family and they were Mom and Dad. Sometimes, when you get a new coach, there’s major panic and everything gets blown up. But we are calm, collected, and peaceful. We’re still looking to win the conference and our standards will remain incredibly high.”

Those standards were not met last season.

Although winning the American Athletic Conference East Division title, the Bulls finished 10-6-2 and lost 1-0 against Florida Atlantic in the AAC Tournament first round, ending Schilte-Brown’s tenure.

“Honestly, for our program not to make the NCAA Tournament in any season, I don’t think that’s acceptable,” Thurton said. “That’s not what we’re about at USF.”

Accordingly, Brown instituted a catchphrase for the season:

Raise The Standard.

“A lot of people have asked me, ‘What does that mean? The standard for USF women’s soccer hasn’t been good enough?’ ” Brown said. “Make no mistake, this program has accomplished a lot. I would know because I’ve been in the middle of it.

“It’s no slight, but we understand that we have elevated this program to quite a high standard. But I know there’s more in us. I want to be that coach who helps us take the next step. We’ve gone to the Sweet 16, which is great, but let’s break through that glass ceiling and achieve something even greater. Let’s not just be happy to make the postseason, but let’s strive to do some damage every year. That’s the goal.”

In short, USF women’s soccer plans on maintaining its status as one of the most successful programs on campus. The sights might look remarkably similar.

It should sound a bit different.

“Denise announced before last season that she’d be leaving, so whether I got the job or not, I took on a lot more onus in terms of my voice,” Brown said. “I was in front of the players a lot and I feel like I grew a lot as a coach and a person. Either I’d continue that with USF’s program or use that growth somewhere else.

“A large part of Denise’s magic is building relationships and connecting with the players. I’m very comfortable doing that, too. The players don’t need me to be frantically yelling information to them because that will make them frantic. I believe I’ll have a calming presence, but there will be times in the game where there’s a difference in my intensity and voice. That’s only natural.”

After Schilte-Brown’s departure, there was hope that the culture would continue with Brown. Nothing was guaranteed and there was suspense throughout the interview/hiring process.
Bottom line: The head coach has changed.

The objective has not.

“I think ‘anxious’ is the wrong word, but a coach leaving is always tough,” forward Anna Sutter said. “However, it always comes with a new opportunity.

“Regardless of who’s coaching us, we have to find more production and more consistency. That comes from within the team. We are confident to move forward and get back to where USF women’s soccer belongs.”

About South Florida Women’s Soccer
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The 2024 season will be the first with Chris Brown at the helm. He spent the last 17 seasons as the associate head coach. Brown helped lead the Bulls to three AAC regular season titles, three AAC Tournament titles, and eight NCAA Tournament appearances – winning a conference title every year from 2017-21 while making five straight NCAA appearances during that period. Brown helped lead the Bulls to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010, a program-record 16 wins and program-best NCAA Tournament third-round appearance in 2019, both conference regular season and tournament titles in 2020, and a string of 10 straight seasons with 10 or more wins (2012-21). Brown has helped lead the Bulls to every NCAA appearance in program history, including two appearances in the second round, and three AAC Championship Game appearances.

As associate head coach, he mentored the program’s first All-American and recent USF Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Evelyne Viens, who went on to earn three total All-America honors and an Olympic gold medal with the Canadian National Team at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. Goalie Sydney Martinez (2020) and forward Sydny Nasello (2020 and 2021) also earned All-America honors and were among the Bulls that have earned a total of eight AAC Offensive Player of the Year, AAC Midfielder of the Year, AAC Defensive Player of the Year or AAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Players he has coached hold every program’s individual record and most, if not all, of the top 10 marks in every category.