Dale Brown, 1935-2026
An NCAA basketball coaching legend has passed away.
Dale Brown, who led the LSU Tigers men for 25 seasons from 1972-1997 and won four SEC titles in that span, passed away on Oct. 23 at the age of 90.
A native of Minot, N.D., Brown compiled a 448-301 record with the Tigers. He led his teams to 13 NCAA tournament berths and two final fours in addition to the conference titles.
In the 1978-79 season, the Tigers finished 23-6 and were regular season SEC champions. They were conference tournament champions (26-6) in 1979-80, and in 1980-81 were regular season SEC champions once again (31-5).
From the 1983-84 season through to the 1992-93 season, Brown led his teams to the NCAA tournament, including regular season SEC wins in 1984-85 (19-10), and in 1990-91 (20-10). Seven times, Brown's teams peaked with top 10 rankings, getting as high as No. 2 twice, in 1980-81 and 1989-90. From 1989-92, Brown coached future Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, who was the Associated Press Player of the Year in 1990-91 and a first team All-American in 1991-92. In 1988-89 and 1989-90, he coached another future NBA star, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who was then known as Chris Jackson. In both of his years as a Tiger, Jackson led the NCAA in scoring.
Brown was the SEC Coach of the Year four times, and in 1980-81 was Sporting News Coach of the Year.
On March 13, 1992, in the Tigers' SEC quarterfinal matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers, Brown took the court during a bench-clearing brawl to defend O'Neal after he got into it with the Volunteers' Carlus Groves.
No more respect to gain as a head coach than fighting for your players.
RIP, Dale Brown.
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