Wooden Award Selection: LSU Coach Dale Brown Dies at 90

Dale Brown, the head coach who transformed the LSU men’s basketball program into a national force, died Friday, Oct. 23. He was 90.

Brown coached the Tigers for 25 seasons from 1972 to 1997. He amassed 448 victories, a record for the school. During his tenure, the team won four Southeastern Conference regular-season titles and made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. LSU reached the Final Four in 1981 and 1986 under his leadership.

His death came shortly after the university announced he would receive the 2027 John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award. The honor recognizes his impact on the sport. Brown arrived in Baton Rouge in 1972 and spent the next two decades building the program. He traveled the state to promote the team and urged local support. In 1979, LSU claimed its first SEC regular-season championship since 1954. The team advanced to the 1981 Final Four and returned to that stage in 1986. Brown received the Associated Press National Coach of the Year award in 1981 and was named SEC Coach of the Year four times.

The coaching roster included future NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and Rudy Macklin. Brown was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2022, LSU renamed the court inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in his honor. The facility became Dale Brown/Sue Gunter Court in 2023 to acknowledge both former coaches.

In a 2025 interview with WAFB reporter Chris Nakamoto, Brown recounted a game against undefeated Kentucky. He noted that all five starters had fouled out. He told the remaining players, “From now on you are not substitutes, you are backups.” LSU won the game. Brown credited his mother with teaching him to stand up for what is right. He recalled her warning that focusing too much on image tarnishes character.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry posted on X that Brown put the program on the map. He said the impact would last for decades. Sports journalist Marc J. Spears called Brown an extraordinary human on social media. Spears thanked Brown for his wisdom in past conversations. Brown’s family described him as a man who put others first. They said he always led with the heart and was a great humanitarian. The family added that Brown fell in love with Louisiana and that the state’s people loved him right back.

Brown was born in Minot, North Dakota, on Oct. 31, 1935. He died eight days before his 91st birthday.