Nate Browne was named Director of Cross Country and Track & Field for UC Riverside in January of 2016 and enters his 10th full year in 2025-26. He stepped into the interim shoes in August of 2015 following the retirement of Coach Irv Ray, who had held the post for the previous 12 years.
It was the third promotion in as many years for Browne, who was named associate head coach for Track & Field in January of 2013. He originally joined the Highlanders program in the summer of 2003 as a volunteer assistant coach after serving as a volunteer assistant at California Baptist from 2001-02. Browne was promoted to full-time assistant cross country and track and field coach in the summer of 2007.
In 2023, Browne led the UCR Men's Cross Country team to its first Highlander Invitational win since 2014. UC Riverside also dominated at the Big West Preview and the famed Bill Dellinger Invite in Eugene before both the men's and women's squads moved up to No. 11 in the West Region USTFCCCA rankings. UCR ended the cross country season with the women placing 11th at NCAA West Regionals - its best finish since 2017 - and Ashraf Abdelmagid earning NCAA All-Region.
In the 2024 Track & Field season, Browne oversaw two Big West champions and countless school record holders in addition to Monea Jennings being named a recipient of the Big West Service and Leadership Award. 2025 brought more success with the Highlanders' 13th, 14th, and 15th entries to the NCAA West Preliminaries since 2021. Additionally, UCR also brought home the MPSF women's 200m title and Big West podium finishes in the men's and women's 4x400 relays.
Program records have fallen time and time again with Browne at the helm, and the women's track and field team entered national prominence in 2022 with a No. 16 ranking in the 5000m relay and No. 13 in the West region. In spring 2023 alone, Browne presided over multiple fallen school and Big West women's 10k records, as well as new all-time school marks in the 5k, 100m, 200m, 60m and 60mH.
Browne helped guide Faith Makau to the 2015 Big West individual cross country title, UCR's second in as many years after Raquel Hefflin's win in 2014. In 2019, Browne led UC Riverside to represent two of the league men's meet's top five finishes in Johnathan Lee (3rd/24:34.8) and Arman Irani (5th/24:41.0). The duo later finished 50th and 51st, respectively, at the NCAA West Regionals in Colfax, Washington. Most recently, in 2021 in Davis, Linda Perez became UCR's seventh All-Conference honoree since 2016.
On the cross country side, Browne has led UC Riverside to collect seven Big West All-Conference awards, countless Big West All-Academic awards and seven individual trips to NCAA West Regional meets since being named director in 2016. Most recently in 2025, the men’s cross country team earned its best NCAA West Regional result, finishing 15th.
UC Riverside has reached new heights in track and field with Browne at the helm. He led the program to make school history in 2016 when Vesta Bell captured the NCAA Division I national championship in the weight throw, the school's first national title in any sport. Breana Jemison also earned Second Team All-American honors that year. Prior to NCAAs, Browne coached Asha Giles to the 2016 Big West 400m title, helping the women to their best league meet finish in eight years.
Browne has presided over 20 Big West individual championships, including Jemison's Big West-record 56-11.50 in the shot put in 2016. Six Highlanders have advanced to NCAAs since 2013 and six have earned All-American status. UCR has won a Big West Freshman of the Year award on the men's and women's side with Browne on staff, most notably from Perez. In 2022, she gave UCR its 20th individual league meet title since 2013 with a 10k title in 2021 that crowned her the Big West Freshman of the Year.
In 2009, Browne was given full control of the sprints and relays, which resulted in him coaching a Big West Conference champion in the 400m, five NCAA West Region Qualifiers and 11 All-Big West performers in those events. Additionally, his athletes set 16 indoor school records, five outdoor school records and 64 UCR All Time Top 10 marks (34 women and 30 men).
In cross country, Browne assisted with four NCAA Nationals Qualifiers, six All-West Region Performers and 15 All Big West Conference athletes. Additionally, Chad Hall (2008) and Emmanuel Ngula (2009) were named Big West Cross Country Freshmen of the Year and UC Riverside won the 2008 Big West Women’s Cross Country Championship, the first such title in the program’s history.
He also assisted with 92 Big West Academic All-Conference honorees after he was promoted to full time in 2007, UCR Men’s Cross Country earned Academic All-American Team recognition in seven consecutive years (2007-2014); Men’s Track & Field earned that distinction in 2009 and 2010; and the Women’s Cross Country received the award in four consecutive years (2009-2012).
Browne was an 11-time collegiate All-American at California Baptist. He was the national runner up in the indoor 800m in 1999, the same year the Lancers won the NAIA Indoor National Track & Field team title—the first national title in that school’s history. His other career highlights include winning five NAIA National Championships in the 4x800m and distance medley relays and winning back-to-back Golden State Athletic Conference 800m titles in 1999 and 2000. He graduated from CBU in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and was also a Golden State Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete. Prior to that he attended Victor Valley High School (Victorville, CA), where he graduated in 1995 and that same year was a CIF Southern Section Finalist in the 800m.
He is a member of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, and has his USATF Level 1 Coaching Certification and USATF Level 2 in Sprints, Hurdles and Relays. Additionally, he was selected for the USATF Emerging Elite Coaches Camp in the same event disciplines in 2012.
Browne's hobbies include Cross Fit, running, playing basketball, reading, cooking and mentoring young people. He is married to Celene Gutierrez as of July of 2016, and the couple live in Riverside with their daughters Marianna and Eliana.
