By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
It had been more than two decades since Michael Brown left William & Mary for the greener pastures of professional baseball. Constant ankle problems derailed his career just as it got started, so he ended up taking another path.
 
That path, ever so eventually, brought him back to Williamsburg. He's three months on the job as associate athletic director for advancement, and he feels home again.
 
"I always wanted it to happen," said Brown, who 22 years after his final game still holds three career records at W&M. "I had been a donor for a long time and kept in touch with the baseball team, so yeah, it's always been a longshot dream of mine to be back at William & Mary.
 
"It still kind of blows my mind that I'm able to give back to a place that I literally consider my second home. I've loved it since I got in the door, and I'm sure I'll love it for a long, long time. This feels like my last stop professionally, so I want to make sure I'm doing right by the university."
 
Brown, a 2017 W&M Hall of Fame inductee, will focus on the philanthropic aspect of athletic administration. His role will be raising money to further enhance the experience and performance of Tribe athletes. He held a similar role at VCU from September 2023 through this past March.
 
His boss at VCU was Todd McFarlane, who is now the senior associate athletics director of advancement at William & Mary. McFarlane knew Brown wanted to return to his alma mater, and he knew he would have a common bond with potential donors.
 
"This was a place he had said to me would be his dream job," McFarlane said. "He so deeply appreciates what his experience was here as a student athlete, and he had said to me if the opportunity ever presented itself, he would love to entertain the idea of coming back.
 
"He understands the rigors of being a student athlete at William & Mary. He's done really well when he connects with the alumni. There's a commonality between what they experienced and what he experienced, which is pretty unique."
 
Brown was an outfielder and hitting machine in his playing days at William & Mary. He had an All-American season in 2003 when he batted .423 with 20 home runs and 66 RBI.
 
He still holds the program's career record for home runs (50), RBI (204) and total bases (507). His 288 career hits are second. He's more surprised than anyone that they still stand.
 
"Actually, I thought Chris Rahl was going to break all of them," Brown said. "I'm sure somebody will break them soon, especially with the direction college baseball is moving. But it's kind of cool to be able to tell people, 'Yeah, I still have the home run record.'"
 
A freak ankle injury eventually cost him a shot at a baseball career. It was the fall of his junior year, and Brown was playing flag football. At first, he thought it was a bad sprain. But after five days of no improvement, he was diagnosed with acute compartment syndrome.
 
The medical definition is when swelling within a muscle compartment increases pressure that can damage nerves and blood vessels. In severe cases, it can lead to amputation. Brown's case was severe, but surgery saved his leg from the knee down.
 
He went on to have a strong junior season until he rolled that same ankle again. He missed the final half of the 2002 season and underwent surgery to repair a tendon. He came back for his senior year, which turned out to be magical.
 
Brown was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 13th round of the 2003 MLB Draft. His first stop was Oneonta, N.Y., where he batted .266 with a home run and 10 RBI in 45 games. From there, he went to the West Michigan Whitecaps and advanced A ball.
 
But that ankle kept causing problems. Sliding into second base one day, his cleat got caught and four ligaments were torn. Brown underwent three reconstruction surgeries which left him "only a shell of what I was."
 
The Tigers released him. Brown had offers from the Rangers and Red Sox if he wanted a new start, but he knew he was done.
 
Brown didn't know what would come next, but the answer turned out to be the YMCA in Greater Richmond. He worked there two years as sports and teen director and then took a position with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Virginia.
 
In March 2014, he was named chief philanthropy officer with Voices for Virginia's Children. Nearly seven years later, he was hired as executive director of Accessia Health in Midlothian.
 
In September 2023, Brown got his first taste of college athletics administration as associate AD of development at VCU. He worked with McFarlane for four months and reunited with him at William & Mary in March.
 
Back home at last.
 
"Earlier in my career, there was always this thought process of how do I get back," said Brown, who has a wife (Mary) and 3-year-old son (Bowen). "How is that I go about doing that? The fact that it's really happening, it's really been a dream."