Spotlight on Andy Brown

By: Brandi Wilson

New faculty member Andy Brown adds character and new potential to Trine University’s Sports Broadcasting Program, as well as in the classroom. Brown grew up in a small town in Michigan called Camden. With a teaching career path in mind, Brown moved to Hillsdale and got his undergrad at Hillsdale College. He and his wife lived there for 20 years while he got his master's degree from Western Michigan University.

After teaching at Camden Frontier High School for 10 years, Brown developed a strong friendship with another teacher there, Amy Nicholls. Amy Nicholls eventually left Camden Frontier and obtained a position as the Dean of the Jannen School of Arts and Sciences at Trine University. After working at Trine for roughly four or five years, Nicholls wondered if Brown had any interest in getting a job at Trine as well.

“I wanted to work with Amy again,” Brown said. After hearing that University President Dr. Earl Brooks wanted an emphasis on sports broadcasting for Trine, Brown knew that this was an opportunity he had to take. After broadcasting Hillsdale sports for 20 years, he was excited to give the sports broadcasting program at Trine the boost it needed to make it succeed. 

“It started with Amy, but this opportunity, with the broadcasting element, was really the thing that cemented it,” Brown said. Aside from sports broadcasting, Brown teaches effective speaking, public relations writing and production, as well as advanced writing for the media. He enjoys being in the classroom and getting to know all of his students, but his favorite thing is watching and talking about sports. Between his three sons, he spends the majority of his nights at their sporting events. Along with watching sports this year, Brown will be commentating various athletic games at Trine, such as basketball and hockey. 

Brown has a strong image for the future of the sports broadcasting program at Trine—he wants to help it grow and have more people be aware of it, making it more popular.

“I want people to be excited to watch it and enjoy the games, so that’s what we are working on,” Brown said. Along with the sports broadcasting program, he hopes to help improve the communication department as a whole. 

For more information on Andy Brown, feel free to contact him at browna@trine.edu.