Dale Brown dies at 90: LSU basketball legend coached Shaq, led 2 Final Four runs

Longtime former LSU men’s basketball coach Dale Brown has died, the university confirmed Friday, Oct. 23. He was 90 years old.

A cause of death was not specified.

Brown coached the Tigers for 25 years, from 1972-97. Over that time, he guided what had been a middling SEC program to an extended stretch of national relevance. 

LSU made the NCAA Tournament 13 times over a stretch of 15 seasons from 1978-93, including twice as a No. 1 seed. That period was highlighted by a pair of Final Four appearances, in 1981 and 1986. Prior to Brown’s hiring in 1972, the Tigers had made the NCAA Tournament only twice in program history.

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Two days before his death, Brown was named the 2027 recipient of the Los Angeles Athletic Club John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award. The announcement came with a video tribute from Shaquille O’Neal, the biggest star (literally and figuratively) Brown coached in his time at the school.

“He made me one of the best basketball players ever,” O’Neal said in the video. “Daddy Dale — we call you ‘Daddy’ for a reason. I love you and congratulations. I am so proud of you, Coach.”

Brown’s 448 victories are the most by a coach in LSU men’s basketball history by a significant margin, with the next closest coach, Harry Rabenhorst, more than 100 wins behind him. At the time of Brown’s final game in 1997, he was the second-winningest coach in SEC history, behind only Adolph Rupp.

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Brown’s teams won four SEC regular-season championships, including a 1980-81 squad led by All-American Rudy Macklin that won a program single-season record 31 games on its way to a Final Four. That season, Brown was named national coach of the year. Five years later, a less-heralded Tigers squad made a Cinderella run to the Final Four as a No. 11 seed, including an upset of No. 1 seed Kentucky in the Elite Eight, before losing to eventual national champion Louisville in the national…

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Publish date : 2026-10-23 18:55:00

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