Dale Brown dies at 90, 48 hours after Wooden Award selection

Dale Brown, who led the LSU men's basketball program for 25 seasons, died Friday, Oct. 23. He was 90.

Brown coached the Tigers from 1972 to 1997, accumulating 448 victories, the highest total in school history. During his tenure, the team secured four Southeastern Conference regular-season titles. LSU appeared in the NCAA Tournament 13 times and reached the Final Four in 1981 and 1986.

The university announced on Wednesday that Brown had been selected for the 2027 John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award. The honor recognizes his contributions to college basketball. He died 48 hours after the news broke.

Notable players who suited up under Brown included Shaquille O'Neal, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and Rudy Macklin. O'Neal and Abdul-Rauf were both inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Brown himself was the 1981 Associated Press National Coach of the Year and won the SEC Coach of the Year award four times.

Brown was born in Minot, North Dakota, on Oct. 31, 1935. He arrived in Baton Rouge in 1972 to rebuild a struggling program. In 1979, LSU won its first SEC title since 1954. In 2022, the university named the main floor of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Dale Brown Court. It was renamed Dale Brown/Sue Gunter Court in 2023.

Brown's family described him as a humanitarian who prioritized others. They stated he "always led with the heart" and that Louisiana residents "loved him right back." Gov. Jeff Landry said Brown "put LSU Basketball on the map" and that his influence would endure. Journalist Marc J. Spears called Brown "an extraordinary human" on X.

In a 2025 interview, Brown recounted a game against undefeated Kentucky where all five starters fouled out. He told his bench players, "From now on you are not substitutes, you are backups," and the team won. He credited his mother with teaching him to do what is right and warned against polishing one's image at the expense of character. Brown died eight days before his 91st birthday.