LSU Coach Dale Brown Dies at 90 After Wooden Award Selection

Dale Brown, the longtime head coach of the LSU men's basketball team, died on Friday, Oct. 23. He was 90 years old. His death occurred two days after the university announced that Brown would receive the 2027 John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award. The honor recognizes his long-standing influence on the sport.

Brown arrived in Baton Rouge in 1972 to lead a program that had not won a conference title in nearly two decades. He guided the team to its first Southeastern Conference regular-season championship in 1979, ending a gap that dated back to 1954. Over the next 25 seasons, he compiled a record of 448 wins, a school record. His teams reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times and advanced to the Final Four in 1981 and 1986.

The coach mentored several players who went on to professional careers, including Shaquille O'Neal and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Brown received the Associated Press National Coach of the Year award in 1981. He was also named SEC Coach of the Year four times. The university renamed its main arena floor in his honor in 2022, and updated the name in 2023 to also include Sue Gunter.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry stated on social media that Brown placed LSU basketball on the national map. Sports journalist Marc J. Spears described Brown as an extraordinary human who shared wisdom about life and basketball. Brown's family released a statement describing him as a man who always led with his heart. They noted that he was a humanitarian before anything else and that he fell in love with Louisiana, which loved him right back.

In a 2025 interview with WAFB reporter Chris Nakamoto, Brown recalled a game against top-ranked Kentucky where all five starters fouled out. He told his bench players, "From now on you are not substitutes, you are backups." LSU won that game. Brown credited his mother with teaching him to do what is right and warned that polishing one's image can tarnish character.

Born on Oct. 31, 1935, in Minot, North Dakota, Brown died eight days before his 91st birthday. He remains the most successful head coach in the history of the LSU basketball program.