This is a specialty page to honor our very own classmate Don Brose.  As many of you know, Don Brose went on to become the head men's hockey coach at Minnesota State University - Mankato.  This link contains information about a recent honor that Don has received -- the Mankato Maverik Hockey Facilities are named in honor of Don Brose.

When the 2016-17 season begins for the Minnesota State men's and women's hockey teams and the doors to Verizon Center swing open, the hockey operation's training facility will be called the Don Brose Training Center, in recognition of the legendary coach's significant contributions to the game of hockey.

Brose coached the Minnesota State men's hockey program for 30 years (1969-2000), guiding the Mavericks from their infancy all the way through to NCAA's Division I affiliation and membership into the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

"The Don Brose Training Center at Verizon Center will stand as a fitting tribute to the significance that Coach Brose has had in the City of Mankato and for Minnesota State University for the game of hockey.  His contribution as a whole cannot be overstated," state Pat Hentges, Mankato City Manager.

Brose, a St. Louis Park, Minn. native, amassed a 536-335-79 record as the MSU bench boss and at the time of his retirement, ranked 14th all-time in wins amongst all U.S. college hockey coaches.  Benchmarks during the course of his three decades with the Mavericks included a third-place finish in NCAA Division II in 1977-78 and a second-place finish in DII in 1978-79 prior to leading MSU to the NCAA Division II title in 1980.

Named American Hockey Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 1979, he guided the Mavericks to a second-place finish in NCAAa Division III in 1990-91 and was named WCHA Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 after navigating the Mavericks to a 21-14-1 mark and a fourth-place finish in their inaugural year in Western Collegiate Hockey Associaton.  Honored by the American Hockey Coaches Association with the John MacInnes Award in 2004, his career included seven conference titles (1974-75 WIHA, 1975-76 WIHA, 1978-79 WIHA, 1979-80 WIHA, 1985-86 NCHA, 1986-87 NCHA, 1990-91 NCHA) and 35 All-Americans.  He was inducted into the Minnesota State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.

"Coach Brose will always be synonymous with Maverick Hockey," said Dr. Richard Davenport, Minnesota State's president.  "His record speaks for itself, but the reality is that his contributions reach far beyond coaching during the course of his career.  He came to us an educator first and that's what he did in working with the young men he brought to Mankato to play hockey.  It's ony appropriate that we are able to recognize his contributions to our city and to our University in this fashion."

"We are thrilled to provide this well-deserved naming recognition opportunity for Coach Brose," said Kevin Buisman, Minnesota State Director of Athletics.  "Don Brose is an iconic figure in this area and his name is synonymous with Maverick Hockey.  His pioneering ways and vision for the impact this sport would have combined to create an indelible impact on our University, this community , and all of southern Minnesota.  We are indebted for his leadership and proud to have his name associated with the new home of Maverick Hockey at Verizon Center."

Verizon Center is a multi-purpose facility located in downtown Mankato.  The home of Minnesota State men's and women's hockey programs, the 5,000+ -seat arena includes a 200' X 87' ice sheet and newly-installed four-sided high-definition Daktronics video scoreboard along with recent construction, which includes Maverick hockey coaches and support staff offices and meeting rooms, athletic training room and equipment facilities, state-of-the-art locker rooms as well as the David Backes work-out area.