Dale Brown, the coach who turned LSU men’s basketball into a national force, died Friday, Oct. 23. He was 90.
Brown spent 25 seasons at LSU from 1972 to 1997 and left as the winningest head coach in program history with 448 victories. Under his watch, the Tigers reached two NCAA Final Fours, won four Southeastern Conference regular-season titles and made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances.
His death came only two days after LSU announced that he had been chosen for the 2027 John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award, an honor that recognized both his career and his influence on the college game.
Brown’s teams reached the Final Four in 1981 and 1986. He was named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year in 1981 and won SEC Coach of the Year four times. He also was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Among the players he coached were future NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, formerly known as Chris Jackson, and LSU standout Rudy Macklin.
Brown arrived in Baton Rouge in 1972 determined to build a program that could stand with the nation’s best. He also spent years traveling around Louisiana promoting LSU basketball and urging fans to get behind the Tigers. That push helped LSU win its first SEC regular-season championship since 1954 in 1979.
LSU later honored Brown’s place in program history by unveiling Dale Brown Court inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in 2022. The court was renamed Dale Brown/Sue Gunter Court in 2023 to recognize both former LSU coaches.
In a statement after his death, Brown’s family remembered him as a man who put others first and formed a deep bond with Louisiana.
“We have lost the most loving and most loved man any of us has ever known,” the family said.
“Dale Brown always put others first. He always led with the heart. He was always a great humanitarian before anything else.”
The family added:
“Dale long ago fell in love with Louisiana. And the people of Louisiana loved him right back. We are forever grateful for that.”
Tributes quickly followed. Louisiana Gov.
Jeff Landry wrote on X that Brown “put LSU Basketball on the map” and said his impact would “be felt for decades to come.” Sports journalist Marc J.
Spears also posted that Brown was “an extraordinary human” and thanked him for “your time and wisdom coach.”
In a 2025 interview with WAFB investigative reporter Chris Nakamoto, Brown looked back on a game against undefeated, top-ranked Kentucky in Baton Rouge when all five of his starters fouled out. Brown said he called timeout and told the rest of his players, “From now on you are not substitutes, you are backups,” and LSU went on to win.
When asked what he wanted people to remember after 90 years, Brown pointed back to the lessons his mother taught him.
“I was taught by my mother to do things that are right. And to stand up for what’s right,” Brown said.
“I don’t care if anyone disagrees with me. I’m not trying to get into an argument.”
He also recalled her warning about reputation and character.
“If you spend too much time polishing your image, you will tarnish your character and be an unhappy man,” Brown said, recalling her words. “So you say what’s in your heart.”
Brown was born Oct. 31, 1935, in Minot, North Dakota, and died eight days before his 91st birthday.
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