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Herbster is in his seventh year at Charlotte, and earned a promotion to associate head coach in the summer of 2005 He coaches the 49ers in distance events and oversees the cross country teams during the fall. Brad made an immediate impact on the 49ers' distance program since his arrival. Under his watch in 2005, Cassie Ficken became the first-ever distance event athlete at the school to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She came within four seconds of the school's first-ever national championship in any sport, and was the first female in school history to earn an indoor All-America award. She also advanced to the NCAA Championships during the outdoor season in the 5,000. Cassie completed the calendar-year trifecta by moving on to the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships in the fall of 2005.
In 2007, Charlotte had a fourth-place finish on the women's side and a ninth-place result on the men's side at the Atlantic 10 Championships. Amanda Goetschius was the top women's performer at the meet with a seventh place finish, while Chase Eckard paced the men's squad with a 14th place finish. Eckard, Goetschius and Aja Jackson each were named All-Conference for their performances throughout the `07 campaign.
In addition to impressive individual performances, Herbster has guided the 49ers to team success as well. In 2002, his first year with the cross country teams, the men won their first-ever Conference USA championship and in 2004 earned the runner-up spot. For his efforts in 2002, Herbster earned C-USA Coach of the Year honors. The women have shown similar improvement under his direction. In 2003, they finished fourth at the league championships, matching their best showing since 1997. They improved that to an all-time best runner-up performance at the 2005 Atlantic 10 Championships.
Prior to joining the Niners program, Herbster spent one season at Hopewell High School, where he started the track program from scratch at the first-year school. In their inaugural season, he coached the team to a second-place finish in the MECA 8 conference. He had four runners earn all-conference honors, including one who represented the school at the state championships.
Before moving to Hopewell, he served three years as the head cross country coach and distance coach for track at nearby North Mecklenburg, where he earned Coach of the Year honors from the Charlotte Observer for the 2000-01 season. While at North Meck, he produced six All-Americans and five North Carolina state champions. Herbster's teams were equally successful, capturing the state 4-A championship in cross country in 2000 and runner-up finishes in cross country in 1999 and outdoor track in 2001. He was named NCHSAA Coach of the Year in 2000.
Herbster graduated from South Carolina in Dec. 1991, where he competed for the cross country and track and field teams. He was a three-time all-conference performer. He also was a solid performer on the track, setting the school's class record in the steeplechase as a senior. Herbster is USATF Level 1 Certified.
