10 Jun 2026 Person of the Month: Nathan Brown
Hometown: I was born in Hattiesburg, Miss., in 1986. My family moved to Russellville (Pope County) when I was in second grade, and that is where I grew up and graduated high school. My family now lives in Conway, and we love every minute of it.
Family: I have been married for 16 years to my wife, Jessica. We are blessed to have two children. My daughter, Rylee, is 13 and will attend Conway Junior High this upcoming year, and my son, Luke, is 12 and will be going to middle school at Ruth Doyle this fall.
Education: I graduated from Russellville High School in 2004 and attended the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) from 2004 through 2008. I earned my business education degree from UCA in 2008.
Community activities:We attend The Summit Church in Conway. We are actively involved in our church’s small group. Throughout the community, I have been involved with Deliver Hope, Woodrow Cummins 5K volunteering, Toad Suck Daze volunteering, Rotary youth football league, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, speaking at Kiwanis Club of Conway and Rotary Club of Conway, and am a Little Rock Touchdown Club member and UCA letterman club member.
Work:Head football coach at UCA.
Accomplishments: I was fortunate to be a part of the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints organizations after my playing career at UCA. Since I have been in coaching, I have had various honors and recognitions over the years. Since being at UCA as a player and coach, we have won seven conference championships and made five postseason appearances at the Division I level.
This year I was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. I received a call from my boss and UCA Athletic Director Matt Whiting giving me the news. A special thanks to a couple of Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame board members, Greg Hatcher and Rush Harding, for their role in my receiving this honor.
Favorite inspiring quote: There are three quotes that I try to live by as a man that is in the world of sports. The first is “Little moments create big moments.” The second is “Being ready is a myth. You start, you suck, you figure it out, and you get better.” The third is “When the road gets bumpy, you don’t leave the car, you put your seatbelt on.” These three quotes are simple but have so much meaning in dealing with adversity in life and sports.
Who inspired you to be a coach? There were so many coaches in my life who influenced me throughout my youth and into my college days. I would say Jeff Holt, my high school coach, developed my love for football. Once I got into college, the coaches who really affected me were Clint Conque, Hud Jackson, Todd Cooley and Brooks Hollingsworth.
Hobbies:My hobbies really consist of anything my family and kids are doing. Personally, I enjoy golf, hunting, fishing, yard work and sitting on my deck at my house.
Favorite 501 dessert: This is hard to narrow down, but I really enjoy the pies at Holly’s in Conway. I also love the dessert selection at Stoby’s.
Favorite family Fun: We are always at a sporting event. You can find us at Conway Station baseball park watching Luke, or you will find us at Don Owen watching Rylee play volleyball. We know every soccer complex in Arkansas by heart, chasing Rylee around playing soccer. When we aren’t watching and playing sports, we are usually doing something with friends and family or enjoying the outdoors of Central Arkansas. This is a special place with a lot of things for a family to do. We try to take advantage of our downtime when we get it.
