Lehigh University Athletics
Charlie Brown '77 inducted into Lehigh HOF
5/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A pair of former Lehigh greats have been inducted into the Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame. Formal induction took place on Lehigh’s Packer Campus on Saturday, May 9, 2009. Track and field standout Justina Barone ’03, who holds 20 school records, and Charlie Brown ’77, Lehigh’s all-time leading scorer in men’s basketball at the time of his graduation, comprise the class of 2009.
Lehigh’s all-time leading scorer at the time of his graduation, Charlie Brown ‘77 finished his career with 1,311 points, which is currently 12th in school annals. A four-year letter winner and 1977 team captain, Brown earned All-Tournament Team honors at the 1976-77 Roanoke Invitational and led the Brown and White in scoring as a freshman, sophomore and senior. Brown was named to the All-East Coast Conference Second Team in 1975 after averaging 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds and shooting 46-percent from the field. He averaged 13.4 points over the course of his career, eclipsing the 1,000-point plateau on December 6, 1976.
Brown received a handful of awards during his time at Lehigh including the Chi Psi Award in 1975, the Walter J. Messner Award in 1976, the Bruce Thompson Award in 1977 and the North Jersey Alumni Association Outstanding Athlete Award in 1977. Brown earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Lehigh in 1977. Following graduation he played in numerous summer Pro and ProAm leagues in New Jersey and New York.
“Being inducted into the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame is certainly one of the highlights of my entire life,” Brown commented. “It’s one of the biggest highlights I’ve ever had.”
He continued, “I probably learned more about myself during my time at Lehigh than any other period up to that point in my life. I had lost a total of 12 games during my high school career, and so during my time at Lehigh I learned a lot about building character. All of the things people talk about in terms of overcoming obstacles and dealing with adversity, I learned that and more at Lehigh.”
“I would like to congratulate Charles on his introduction into the Lehigh University Hall of Fame,” explained Brown’s coach at Lehigh and current NBA assistant Brian Hill. “Charles certainly had a distinguished career at Lehigh; he exhibited a great work ethic at all times and was a model of consistency on and off the floor. Charles always conducted himself as a gentleman and handled every situation he encountered with tremendous dignity and grace.”
Hill went onto say, “Charles also possessed a rare humility for such a gifted athlete and set a great example for everyone he came into contact with. To me, these are the attributes that make him a Hall of Famer. Congratulations Charles!”
Brown was a member of the Lehigh Alumni Association from 1987-89 and he served on the Lehigh Board of Trustees from 1989-1999. A founding member and first President of the Lehigh University Black and Latino Alumni Council (LUBLAC), Brown received the Alumni Service Award in 1985 and again in 1987 for his contribution to the Minority Student Body at Lehigh University.
Born in New Jersey, Brown starred at Morristown High School, where he set the school rebounding record, averaging 20 per game. A First-Team All-Morris County selection in basketball and an All-Essex and All-Morris County honoree in baseball, Brown garnered First-Team All-State honors on the hardwood for Group IV in New Jersey, the state’s largest group. Brown earned varsity letters at Morristown High School in basketball, baseball and soccer, garnering Second-Team All-State accolades on the baseball diamond.
“I am thrilled that Charlie Brown is being inducted into our Athletics Hall of Fame,” explains Brown’s former teammate and current member of the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame, Bill Griffin ’79. “He is very deserving of this honor. Not only was Charlie a great basketball player here, he was a fantastic teammate, leader, and friend. Since he left Lehigh, he has become everything we all knew he would be…a successful businessman, a wonderful husband and father, and a giver within his community.”
Since his days at Lehigh, Brown has also been heavily involved in coaching, working with numerous high school, recreational and traveling basketball and soccer teams, for boys and girls. In 2004, Brown co-founded the Aurora Warriors Soccer Club, which was formed for the purpose of providing children of all economic backgrounds and cultures the opportunity to play traveling soccer in a competitive league which would normally be unaffordable.
“I met so many friends that are still very good friends today at Lehigh,” Brown explained. “I met my daughter’s God parents, my first and late wife I met at Lehigh. The Lehigh experience was something I will never forget.”
Currently, Brown is the President and Owner of BP Communications in Aurora, Illinois. “Anytime I tell someone that I graduated from Lehigh, their eyes light up. The education one receives at Lehigh is second to none and the school’s reputation is highly regarded and widely known.”
Brown’s late wife Debra graduated from Lehigh in 1977, while in 1996 he married the former Bonnie Banks. Brown also has three children, including: daughter Chanel, a 2004 graduate of Clark Atlanta University where she was a standout on the tennis court, son Charles III, a track and field All-American at Carthage College, and son Cale, a junior at Neuqua Valley High School where he participates in soccer and is a track and field standout. All three children are on the Athletic Wall of Fame at Neuqua Valley High School.
One of the greatest athletes in Lehigh history, Justina Barone ‘03 set 20 school records during her time in the Brown and White and won seven Patriot League Championships, between indoor and outdoor track. Barone won the 2001, 2002 and 2003 Patriot League pentathlon championship, and was named the Patriot League Field Athlete of the Meet on two occasions (2001, 2003) as well as the Patriot League Track Athlete of the Meet twice (2002, 2003). Barone was a seven time ECAC Qualifier and in 2003, became the first woman in Lehigh history to qualify for the USA Track and Field (USATF) Championship where she competed against a large pool of professional athletes en route to earning a 12th place finish in the combined events category.
“It’s a great honor to go into the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame,” Barone explained. “I can truly appreciate it more now because of the year I just went through. What I gained in running under Coach Matt (Utesch) and Coach Deb (Utesch) has not left me. The fight and competitiveness I learned while at Lehigh has remained with me.”
Barone then commented on her coaches while at Lehigh, Matt and Debbie Utesch. “They were amazing. I had never hurdled before I came to Lehigh and so for them to realize that I had the ability to be successful in that event and to continually look out for me is something I cannot thank them enough for.” She continued, “Coach Matt and Coach Deb took an interest in me, not just on the track, but also in life. Coach Matt cared for me as if I was his own daughter and I really enjoyed the family-like atmosphere of the entire track program and all of Lehigh University.”
Among the numerous school records Barone holds, 13 were in individual events and seven were as a member of a relay team. Barone won the 2002 and 2003 Patriot League Championship in the high jump and the 100 and 400-meter hurdles, and the 2003 Patriot League title in the 55-meter hurdles; she also holds the league record in the 55-meter hurdles and the pentathlon.
Barone was named the ECAC and Patriot League Athlete of the Week on numerous occasions, earned the 2003 ECAC Merit Award, received the Lehigh Valley Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Outstanding Athlete Award the same year, and was named the Most Outstanding Female Senior Athlete by the Lehigh Athletic Department.
“The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Justina is that on days when things in the office were going rough, I could go out to practice and simply watch her run, and that would make me smile,” Matt Utesch explained. “She was extraordinary to watch compete, even in practice. Not only was she arguably the greatest female athlete at Lehigh, she is a great person to be around and I truly enjoyed just being around her. At our banquet following Justina’s senior year, I told those in attendance that if my daughter grew up to be like Justina, that I would be a very happy father.”
The 2002 Lehigh Track and Field Athlete of the Year and the 2001 Lehigh Track and Field Coaches Award winner, Barone was a three-time captain of the Mountain Hawks track and field program. She also qualified for the NCAA East Regional in 2003 in the 100 and 400-meter hurdles.
“I had the privilege of getting to train, travel, and compete alongside Justina,” explained Barone’s former college teammate Jenny (Warner) Southard ’03. “She is undoubtedly the most talented, hardworking and dedicated, yet humble athlete and friend I have ever known. She was gifted in so many different events, and worked so diligently at each of them to truly compete in the multi events in a field of her own.”
She added, “It was a joy to get to practice and represent Lehigh together. It is an honor to see her inducted into the Hall of Fame because I can think of no one more perfect to be remembered for hundreds of years to come as a top Lehigh athlete who exemplified a true leader, competitor, teammate and loyal friend. Congrats Big-T!”
In addition to her athletic prowess, Barone was also involved in Lehigh’s award-winning C.O.A.C.H. program and served as the Secretary of the Student-Athlete Executive Board. Barone graduated from Lehigh in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
A native of Dunkirk, New York, Barone had a stellar high school career on the track, placing fifth in the class B state championship in the 400-meters in 1997, 1998, and 1999. In 1999 she was also a member of the 4x100-meter relay team that placed fifth in the state.
“We knew she was a good athlete coming in,” Utesch commented, “But the fact is she was such an incredible athlete that she was able to pick up hurdling in a very short time, and she had tremendous range in a number of events, as evidenced by the number of records she set in so many different events.”
Barone twice participated in the Junior Olympics beginning in 1997 where she competed in the 400-meters and 4x100-meter relay in Buffalo, New York, while in 1998 she competed in Seattle, Washington in the 4x400-meter relays and the 4x800-meter relays.
The annual Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame induction is sponsored by the Lehigh Athletics Partnership.
