Joe Browning returns to UNCW Athletics after retiring from the department in 2023 following 38 years leading the Athletics Communications Office.
A native of Topeka, Kan., Browning headed up UNCW's communication efforts and served as a member of the program's senior management team, where he is involved with key decision making and oversaw the men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and field programs.
Browning joined the Seahawks in the fall of 1986 and has been involved in nearly every facet of the UNCW Athletics program in coastal North Carolina.
Browning began his career in the newspaper business, working for daily and weekly newspapers in Virginia and Idaho. He won press association awards for his writing and photography in both states, and served as a judge for both the Virginia and North Carolina Press Associations.
Browning started in the athletic communications profession in 1981 as Director of Sports Information and Promotions at NCAA Division II Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, W.Va. He was named West Virginia Conference SID-of-the-Year three times during his five-year stay in the Mountaineer State and won 12 NAIA publication awards before moving to coastal North Carolina.
In 2000, Shepherd presented him with a special citation in recognition of his leadership and commitment as a founder member of the school's Athletics Hall of Fame.
Browning has worked hard to spearhead UNCW’s emergence on the NCAA Division I scene. He created the department’s first athletic website, established the UNCW Athletic Hall of Fame, developed the Seahawk Digital Network, and expanded the school's radio and internet properties. He created the “Seahawk Sports Roundup,” a television show highlighting all Seahawk teams, and in 2008-09, launched “UNCW Sports Extra,” a variety sports show aired regionally on ESPN2 in conjunction with Time Warner Cable.
Browning has always been active in campus activities. He has chaired numerous search committees and served as a member of the Web Coordination Committee, Printing Services Advisory Committee, UNCW Staff Council, Campus Wellness Committee, Human Resources Advisory Committee, Calendar Committee and Student Recreation Center Board.
He continues to chair the UNCW Athletic Hall of Fame selection committee and served as co-chair of the campus-wide Relay for Life Committee that raised a record amount for the American Cancer Society in 2008. In April of 2009, he was recognized by the UNCW Department of Communication Studies as its Outstanding Internship Director for the year.
In May of 2022, he was inducted into UNCW's prestigious Order of Issac Bear. Founded in 1988 by former Chancellor William H. Wagoner, the honor recognizes “those who have demonstrated loyalty to UNCW, contributed to the academic quality of the university or had a significant role in uniting the institution and the community.”
Browning served on the media relations staffs of several Olympic events. He assisted the U.S. Olympic Committee at the 1987, 1989 and 1990 U.S. Olympic Festivals, the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, and the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France. He also worked the local organizing committees of the 1993 World University Games in Buffalo, N.Y. and the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Browning has been a member of the New Media/Technology, Publications, Special Awards, Site Selection and Goodwill/Wellness Committees of national organization College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA). He continues to give back to the national organization, serving as a charter member of the group's Mentorship Program. His 1993 men’s basketball game program was voted fourth best among NCAA Division I schools.
In the summer of 2009, Browning was elected to a three-year term on the CSC National Board of Directors, joining only a handful of other North Carolinians to serve on the organization's management cabinet in its long history.
Browning is the senior publicist in the Colonial Athletic Association. In his extended career with the Seahawks, he has served as media coordinator for numerous conference events and become a familiar face in conference circles. He was selected by former CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager to serve on the league's 25th Anniversary Executive Committee and Silver Stars Selection Committee. He was named to the CAA's prestigious Academic Awards Committee four years ago by Commissioner Joseph D'Antonio.
In 1995 and 1999, he served as host media coordinator for the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships.
Browning was one of the founders and served as the first president of the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA), a group of sports information professionals dedicated to the promotion of the state’s collegiate student-athletes.
Browning earned his B.S. Degree in Mass Communications from VCU and completed his M.S. Degree in Mass Communications from Shippensburg (Pa.) University.
He and his wife, Mary, have two children; Hayley and Ivan, both graduates of UNCW.
