Jacksonville State has found its next men's golf coach and one that brings experience as a successful coach and teacher of the game.
Athletics Director Greg Seitz announced on Thursday that Michael Brice would be taking over the Gamecocks' men's golf team immediately, ending a search for what Seitz called "the right person for the job."
"We are thrilled that Michael Brice has accepted the job as our next men's golf coach and will lead our program going forward," Seitz said. "The process of hiring our next coach was a thorough one, but we were willing to wait until we found the right person for the job. We feel that Coach Brice is the perfect fit to take our tradition-rich program to the next level."
The Gamecocks head coaching position became vacant following the 2021-22 season, when longtime head coach and JSU Athletics Hall of Famer James Hobbs announced his retirement after 45 years at JSU and 40 as the golf coach. Head women's coach Robbie Fields has served as acting men's head coach while a search for Hobbs' successor was conducted.
Brice comes to JSU from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, where he has been the head coach of both the Bucs men's and women's golf teams since 2017. He has served as a golf coach at the high school and collegiate levels, as well as an instructor for golfers of all ages.
"I want to thank Greg Seitz and the entire JSU athletic department for the opportunity to serve the student-athletes as JSU's Head Men's Golf Coach," Brice said. "I would also like to thank Christian Brothers AD Donna Crone, my fellow CBU coaches and everyone in the Buc family. My time at CBU with our men's and women's team has prepared me for this amazing opportunity at JSU! The history of the JSU golf program is second to none, and I am excited to build on its legacy."
While at CBU, Brice led both the men's and women's programs to new heights. In his time with the Bucs, he took two programs that were ranked among the bottom in Division II and elevated both into the Top 75. His men's teams have enjoyed seven individual wins and nine teams wins, while the Lady Bucs have had two individual wins and the first four team wins in school history.
His five-year tenure saw every school scoring record broken, while Brice also worked tirelessly to develop his players skills and training habits on the course, while also focusing on maintaining a strong camaraderie withing his teams. While competing on the course, the Bucs golf programs were finishing among the top three programs at CBU in GPA each year.
Brice took over the Christian Brothers program after a three-year stint as the Director of Golf Instruction at The First Tee of Greater Austin and as an assistant coach at Concordia University in Texas. With The First Tee program, he designed, instructed and oversaw golf programs for over 1,000 area students ages 7-17, while also teaching junior golf and senior citizen golf programs in the Austin area.
At Concordia, he assisted with every aspect of the No. 8 Div. III program in the country. In his final season, he led the men's team to a Top-20 finish at the NCAA DIII Championships and helped the women's team to a Top-50 national ranking.
Prior to Concordia, Brice led the women's golf team at Rossview High School in Clarksville, Tenn., to a 54-3 record, as well as district and regional titles and a runner-up finish in the state championship from 2012-14.
His first collegiate coaching job came in 2003, when he began a two-year stint as the assistant men's golf coach at the University of North Florida.
His coaching and teaching career began after a successful playing career that started at Auburn University, where he earned his B.S. in Health and Human Performance/Sport Management, while competing for a Tigers team that was ranked among the Top 10 in the nation.
He went on to a successful professional playing career that featured stops on the Hooters, Adams Professional Golf, Gateway, Tarheel, Dakotas, and minorleaguegolf.com Tours. He has eight professional wins to his credit and his low round in a professional tournament is a final round 64 at the PGA Tour Latin America Venezuela Open. He also holds a course record in Philadelphia, PA with a 61.
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