The first Irv Brown Endowment Fund scholarships were awarded on October 31 to two Sports Management students attending MSU Denver. The inaugural recipients are Sofia Nazarenus and Rene Dominguez.
The fund was established to commemorate the life and legacy of Irv Brown, the first baseball coach at MSU Denver (1968-1969) and a 2012 inductee into the Roadrunners Athletics Hall of Fame. READ MORE
Brown was also inducted into several other Hall of Fames in the Centennial State and received the Colorado High School Athletic Association Distinguished Service Award for promoting high school sports in 1995.
- Jeffco Sports Hall of Fame in 1989;
- Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1997;
- Colorado High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2003;
- University of Northern Colorado Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006;
- Colorado Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2015 (first ever inductee);
- Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado Hall of Fame in 2016.
According to the Irv Brown Endowment Fund committee chairman Mark McIntosh, “the fund’s mission is to help low-income kids chase dreams and preserve Irv’s unique spirit by walking beside these students and providing assistance in a variety of ways.”
A legendary radio broadcaster in Denver for 40 years and an ESPN commentator, Brown coached baseball at the University of Colorado and was one of the most recognizable NCAA basketball referees, where he worked six “Final Fours” during his 25-season career. He was one of the inaugural broad members for the National Association of Sports Officials.
A 1953 graduate from Denver’s North High School 1953, where he was a three-sport star in football, basketball, and baseball, Brown attended Garden City Junior College before earning a degree from then-Colorado State College in Greeley in 1957. At the now-University of Northern Colorado, Brown was a standout basketball and baseball player for the Bears.
Brown was on ESPN’s first live sporting event at a softball tournament in Wichita in 1979. He also called ESPN’s first college football broadcast in September 1979 between Oregon and Colorado at Folsom Field. He also announced college basketball, bowling, bodybuilding, and billiards competitions.
In a web article by Terry Frei after Brown’s passing in February 2019, Joe “The Hitman: Williams was asked if he had any stories about his long-time friend and announcing partner. “Oh, I don’t know which ones to pick,” said Williams. “I have a million stories.”
Irv Brown was a made of a “million stories” and his legacy continues with the Irv Brown Endowment Fund at MSU Denver/.
For more information on how to get involved, please get in touch with McIntosh at mark@seekvictory.com or 303-667-5957.
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