EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER JML 26-106
FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF — DALE DUWARD BROWN

WHEREAS, Dale Duward Brown, the legendary Louisiana State University (“LSU”) men’s basketball coach and the winningest coach in the history of the program, passed away on October 23, 2026, in Baton Rouge, at the age of ninety, just eight days shy of his ninety-first birthday;

WHEREAS, he was born on October 31, 1935, in Minot, North Dakota, to Charles and Agnes Marie (Hennessy) Brown, and was raised by his mother in a one-room apartment above a tavern;

WHEREAS, he starred in multiple sports at St. Leo’s High School in Minot, where he posted the highest single-season scoring average in North Dakota basketball history, and at Minot State Teachers College he earned twelve varsity letters in football, basketball, and track, the only athlete in school history to letter in all three sports;

WHEREAS, he graduated from Minot State in 1957 with a degree in physical education and earned a master’s degree from the University of Oregon in 1964;

WHEREAS, he began his career as a high school coach, teacher, and principal in North Dakota and California before serving as an assistant basketball coach at Utah State University and at Washington State University;

WHEREAS, upon being named head basketball coach at LSU in March 1972, he came to Baton Rouge and never left, quickly falling in love with Louisiana and its people, who loved him in return;

WHEREAS, he drove from one end of this state to the other, handing out purple and gold nets for every basketball goal he could find and telling all who would listen about the future of LSU basketball, with the dream of making basketball important in the heart of Tiger football country;

WHEREAS, his first LSU team, known as “The Hustlers,” defeated third-ranked Memphis State in his home opener in December 1972 and, though forecast to finish last in the Southeastern Conference, finished with a 9-9 league record, earning him his first Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year honor;

WHEREAS, he served as head basketball coach at LSU for twenty-five seasons, from 1972 through 1997, compiling a record of 448 wins and 301 losses, a victory total which, at the time, was second only to Adolph Rupp in the history of the Southeastern Conference, and he was only the third head coach in the Southeastern Conference to reach twenty-five years in the league;

WHEREAS, he led the Tigers to four Southeastern Conference championships, in 1979, 1981, 1985, and 1991, and to thirteen NCAA Tournament appearances, including ten consecutive appearances from 1984 through 1993;

WHEREAS, he led the Tigers to the NCAA Final Four in 1981, with a team that won a program-record thirty-one games, and again in 1986, when the Tigers became, at that time, the lowest seed ever to reach the Final Four;

WHEREAS, he was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year four times, in 1973, 1979, 1981, and 1989, and National Coach of the Year in 1981;

WHEREAS, he coached six All-Americans, including Al Green, Durand “Rudy” Macklin, Ethan Martin, Howard Carter, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and Shaquille O’Neal, and he brought some of the most talented players in the nation to Baton Rouge;

WHEREAS, he filled the LSU Assembly Center, which came to be known as the “Deaf Dome,” season after season from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, and in doing so he made LSU basketball a source of pride for the people of this state;

WHEREAS, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013, and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, and in January 2022 the court at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center was named in his honor;

WHEREAS, on October 21, 2026, just two days before his passing, he was named the 2027 recipient of the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award;

WHEREAS, known affectionately as “Daddy Dale,” he fought relentlessly for reform of the National Collegiate Athletic Association on behalf of student-athletes;

WHEREAS, after his retirement in 1997, he became known as “The Master Motivator,” authored six books, worked as a motivational speaker and television analyst;

WHEREAS, he founded the Dale Brown Foundation, which strives to promote educational opportunities for young people with physical disabilities, from impoverished backgrounds, or from broken homes; and

WHEREAS, he is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of sixty-seven years, Vonnie Ness Brown; his daughter, Robyn Brown Prudhomme (Chris); and his grandsons, Christopher, Peyton, and Cameron.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JEFF LANDRY, Governor of the State of Louisiana, by virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Louisiana, do hereby order and direct as follows:

Section 1: As an expression of respect and to honor Dale Duward Brown, the flags of the United States and the State of Louisiana shall be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol and all state buildings from sunrise until sunset on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

Section 2: This Order is effective upon signature and shall remain in effect until sunset on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand officially and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of Louisiana in the City of Baton Rouge, on this 29th day of October, 2026.

Jeff Landry
GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA

ATTEST BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Nancy Landry
SECRETARY OF STATE