Former LSU basketball coach Dale Brown dies at 90

Dale Brown, who coached the LSU men's basketball team for 25 seasons and remains its winningest head coach, died Oct. 23 at age 90, according to a WAFB/Gray News report carried by WCAX and other Gray stations.

Brown led the Tigers from 1972 to 1997 and won 448 games, WCAX reported. Under him, LSU made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, reached the Final Four in 1981 and 1986, and won four Southeastern Conference regular-season titles.

His death came two days after LSU said he had been chosen for the 2027 John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award, according to the report.

Players he coached included Shaquille O'Neal, who went on to the NBA Hall of Fame, as well as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, then known as Chris Jackson, and Rudy Macklin, the outlets reported.

After arriving in Baton Rouge in 1972, Brown toured Louisiana to build support for the program, according to Dakota News Now. LSU won the 1979 SEC regular-season title, its first since 1954, and reached the Final Four two years later.

Brown was named Associated Press National Coach of the Year in 1981 and SEC Coach of the Year four times, the report said. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame. LSU dedicated Dale Brown Court in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in 2022, and in 2023 renamed it Dale Brown/Sue Gunter Court to honor both former coaches.

In a statement, Brown's family described him as someone who put others ahead of himself and who formed a deep bond with Louisiana, according to KFYR.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry wrote on X that Brown "put LSU Basketball on the map and his impact will be felt for decades to come," Live 5 News reported. Sports journalist Marc J. Spears also paid tribute on social media.

In a 2025 interview with WAFB reporter Chris Nakamoto, Brown spoke about how he hoped to be remembered and credited lessons from his mother. "I was taught by my mother to do things that are right. And to stand up for what's right," Brown said, according to the report.

In the same interview, he recounted a home game against undefeated, top-ranked Kentucky in which all five of his starters fouled out, and said he urged the remaining players to believe they could still win.

Brown was born Oct. 31, 1935, in Minot, North Dakota, and died eight days short of his 91st birthday, the outlets reported.

Compiled by True News from reporting by WCAX, Dakota News Now, Live 5 News and KFYR. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/417