Dale Brown, who has the most wins of any LSU basketball coach, dies at age 90

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Dale Brown, who has the most wins of any LSU basketball coach, dies at age 90

2026-10-24 04:22 Last Updated At：04:30

Dale Brown, who coached some of the most successful basketball teams in LSU history, as well as one of the Tigers' most famous players in Shaquille O’Neal, has died. He was 90.

Brown, whose death Friday was announced by LSU, was just over a week away from what would have been his 91st birthday. On Wednesday, Brown was announced as the 2027 recipient of the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award.

“We have lost the most loving and most loved man any of us has ever known," Brown's family said in a statement. "Dale Brown always put others first. He always led with the heart. He was always a great humanitarian before anything else. Dale long ago fell in love with Louisiana. And the people of Louisiana loved him right back. We are forever grateful for that.”

Brown was named AP Coach of the Year in 1981, was a four-time SEC Coach of the Year and has the most wins of a coach in program history. The panache with which his teams played and the rate at which they won packed LSU’s dome-shaped Pete Maravich Assembly Center with crowds so wild that the stadium took on the nickname, “Deaf Dome.”

The highlights of his 25 years as LSU’s coach included two trips to the NCAA Final Four with his 1981 and 1986 teams.

He coached O’Neal for three seasons, from the 1989-90 campaign until the charismatic, 7-foot-1 superstar entered the 1992 NBA draft and was selected first overall by Orlando. LSU earned bids to the NCAA Tournament during all three of O’Neal’s seasons, the first with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, then known as Chris Jackson, also an All-American, but did not advance past the second round.

The final years of Brown’s career were marred by an NCAA investigation over alleged recruiting tactics that now are permitted.

During the 1996-97 season, the NCAA concluded that a booster had paid one of Brown’s former players, Lester Earl, about $5,000 while he played for the Tigers.

Brown retired in 1997 and LSU was placed on probation in 1998.

Still, Brown remained popular in Louisiana, where his enthusiastic, gregarious and expressive manner had long captivated fans. Many LSU fans also appeared to subscribe to a storyline — espoused in no small part by Brown — that he was unfairly singled out and persecuted by the NCAA.

Brown later was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and LSU’s home basketball court was named for him in 2022 (and also subsequently for late women’s coach Sue Gunter in 2024).

When Brown’s name was unveiled on the court during a halftime ceremony, Brown credited his former players and assistant coaches, many of whom were in attendance that night.

“The best potential of me is we,” Brown said. “This is an example.”

The late former Temple coach John Chaney called Brown “one of the true statesmen of college basketball,” according to a profile of Brown on LSU’s website.

That same profile also quoted Hall of Fame UCLA coach John Wooden saying he will “always remember Dale for his enthusiasm.”

“There are those who say he is a put-on — they just can’t believe that he can be what he professes,” Wooden said then. “But I never questioned that. He amazed me because there is a lot more depth to the man. He was much more than a basketball coach.”

Brown was a native of Minot, North Dakota, and was a three-sport varsity athlete in basketball, football and track at Minot State.

After college, he spent a little more than half a decade as a high school coach in North Dakota and California before taking college assistant posts Utah State in 1966 and Washington State in 1971.

When he was hired by LSU in 1972, few Tigers fans had previously heard of him. His name recognition and popularity began surging after LSU knocked off then-third-ranked Memphis State in the home opener of Brown’s first season.

Brown went on to coach an LSU squad forecast to finish last in the SEC to a 9-9 league record, resulting in his first SEC Coach of the Year honor.

Brown went on to post a career 448-301 record at LSU. Following his retirement, Brown became a motivational speaker, a basketball analyst for television broadcasts and started the charitable Dale Brown Foundation, which aims to promote educational opportunities for students who have physical disabilities or come from families who’ve struggled financially.

Brewers withstand Rays' comeback attempt to win 3-2 in Game 1 of World Series

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Trevor Megill was shouting in celebration and the Milwaukee Brewers were bolting out of the dugout to congratulate one another, believing they had just escaped a ninth-inning jam to win Game 1 of the World Series.

Not quite yet.

What initially was ruled a game-ending double play got overturned after a video review showed Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt’s right foot was slightly off the bag when he reached to catch a high throw from second baseman Brice Turang.

No problem.

Megill regrouped and struck out Jonny DeLuca with two runners in scoring position as Milwaukee edged the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Friday night.

“It's good to get the first win out of the way,” Megill said. “That's where all the nerves are at. First game, a lot of anticipation and build-up to where we are right now."

The ninth inning was particularly nerve-racking for the Brewers and the sellout crowd attending Milwaukee’s first World Series game since 1982.

“You have a big range of emotions,” said team captain Christian Yelich, whose RBI triple in the first put the Brewers ahead for good. “It’s a big credit to Trev for locking back in right there and making some huge pitches after you have that emotional dump and then have to get back on it.”

Tampa Bay trailed 3-1 and hadn’t put a runner on since the sixth until it mounted its comeback attempt against Megill.

Jonathan Aranda, who went 3 for 3 with a walk, and Chandler Simpson hit consecutive one-out singles. A double steal involving pinch-runner Jorge Mateo and Simpson put runners on second and third before Junior Caminero walked on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt to load the bases.

Liam Hicks hit a grounder to the right side, and Turang ranged well to his left to field the ball before throwing to Pratt to start what initially was called a 4-6-3 double play.

Fireworks went off, players poured onto the field and Milwaukee fans roared. But then the crowd hushed as it watched the play again on the videoboard.

“You've got to think worst-case scenario there,” Megill said. “I thought the challenge was at first base, maybe a bobble or something. But it was pretty clear once the replay went up that it was on the play at second base. Zoomed in and it didn't look good. It's all right. We picked up Cooper there. He'll pick us up tomorrow.”

The out call at second was changed to safe by umpire Alfonso Márquez at the MLB Replay Center, which caught Pratt by surprise.

“Obviously, it was close,” the 22-year-old rookie said. “I just didn't think it was enough to overturn, so I wasn't thinking anything of it. The video I saw, thought my cleat was dragging. ... There must have been some other angles that I haven't seen. It ultimately didn't matter because we won.”

The Brewers won because Megill got DeLuca to swing and miss at a 2-2 pitch, capping a night in which Tampa Bay went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

“This is an extremely confident group,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “You know that. We know that. They’re going to be fine. I think the frustration comes from we were one swing of the bat away right at the end of potentially taking the lead.”

The Game 1 winner has gone on to win the World Series 62.8% of the time.

This marks the first World Series featuring two teams seeking their first championship since 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals in six games. The only other major league clubs without a World Series title are the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners.

Milwaukee took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Nick Martinez. NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run and four hits over five innings to help the Brewers stay in front before relievers Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby shut down the Rays through the eighth.

Misiorowski, who had a season-low three strikeouts, opened the game with a 103.5 mph fastball — the fastest pitch ever thrown in a World Series.

“The adrenaline kind of took over, and I tensed up and threw it hard,” said Misiorowski, who earned the win. “Then I settled down, and that was the game plan, to settle in and do me. Don’t try and overdo it.”

Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio and William Contreras each had two hits, including an RBI single. Contreras also threw out two runners trying to steal.

Tampa Bay managed to hang around thanks in part to Martinez, who gave up those two runs in the first but held Milwaukee scoreless through the rest of his five-inning stint. The Brewers added an insurance run in the seventh when Chourio singled home Pratt.

Then came all the action in the ninth, with the Brewers' premature celebration followed by a team-wide sigh of relief as Pratt offered some parting words to Megill.

“I just said, ‘Thank you, man. Thanks for picking me up,’” Pratt said. “That’s what this game is. It's a game of pick-me-up. He picked me up today.”

Drew Rasmussen (16-5, 2.67 ERA) pitches for Tampa Bay and Logan Henderson (11-3, 2.47) starts for Milwaukee in Game 2 on Saturday night. In this postseason, Rasmussen is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and Henderson is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here