Born and raised in Minot, North Dakota, Brown's family was of limited means; he and his two older sisters were reared by his single mother Agnes, a domestic service worker with an eighth-grade education, and all worked various jobs.

[3] During his senior year, he posted the highest scoring average in state basketball history and also set a school record in the quarter mile.

LSU stuck with Brown, who was quickly developing a reputation for his tireless efforts to promote college basketball in the football-hungry state of Louisiana.

I had never heard of such a thing and I really looked forward to meeting him after learning how hard he worked, how aggressive he was and how conscious he was of spreading the word about basketball in this state.

"[This quote needs a citation] It was this intensity and focus that helped Brown win over LSU fans, players and recruits.

The team finished 18–9, and was 12–6 in the Southeastern Conference, including a thrilling 95–94 overtime victory over eventual national champion Kentucky, which came despite all five LSU starters fouling out of the game.

[citation needed] In the 1978–1979 season, Brown's Tigers dramatically improved their record, in spite of losing Rudy Macklin to injury.

The Tigers also finished 14–4 in the SEC, giving LSU its first regular-season conference championship and first NCAA tournament appearance in 25 years.

LSU advanced to the Final Four by beating Wichita State 96–85 in the Elite 8 round of the 1981 NCAA tournament, played in front of home-state fans in the Louisiana Superdome.

To reach the regional final, LSU defeated future SEC rival Arkansas, coached at the time by Eddie Sutton, who would tangle with Brown for four seasons at Kentucky.

In addition, for the third year in a row, LSU was eliminated by the eventual national champion, as Indiana (led by Isiah Thomas) won it all.

[citation needed] Like many other teams that reach the Final Four with a senior superstar, Brown's Tigers experienced a decline in the next two years.

Among them were Jerry "Ice Man" Reynolds, Derrick Taylor, Nikita Wilson, Don Redden and John Williams (Brown's most celebrated recruit to date).

He has consistently argued that the NCAA should be more compassionate when enforcing rules governing compensation for student-athletes, especially in situations involving athletes who were truly in need.

Brown was forced late in the season to move shooting guard Ricky Blanton to starting center.

By now, many LSU fans were not concerned about the poor regular season, as they now just figured that Brown would easily engineer another Cinderella run.

In spite of the disappointment in 1988, Brown had already established his reputation as the "Master Motivator"; he was now considered a coach who could get the best out of his less-talented teams through inspiration, sheer will, and the "Freak Defense".

The Tigers, however lost in the first round of the 1989 NCAA tournament to UTEP, led by future NBA star Tim Hardaway.

Tech, led by future NBA players Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott, Malcolm Mackey and Brian Oliver, went on to the Final Four.

In 2001, reports surfaced that Brown was considering running for the United States House of Representatives in North Dakota.

Two years later his name surfaced again, this time as a potential candidate to run for the United States Senate in 2004 against incumbent Democrat Byron Dorgan.

In 2004, former LSU athletic director and basketball player Joe Dean, who announced many LSU games as a television color commentator during Brown's tenure as a coach submitted a letter to a Baton Rouge newspaper saying that he believes that the basketball floor at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center should be named after Brown.

In the summer of 2007, Brown appeared on the ABC show Shaq's Big Challenge to offer words of encouragement to Shaquille O'Neal about helping obese children.

In the August 22, 2007 Baton Rouge Advocate, Lester Earl issued an apology to Brown, then-assistant head coach Johnny Jones, and LSU in general for his role in the NCAA investigation.

The NCAA intimidated me, manipulated me into making up things, and basically encouraged me to lie, in order to be able to finish my playing career at Kansas.

Only 4 coaches in the SEC have won more conference championships, Adolph Rupp, Joe Hall, Tubby Smith, and Billy Donovan.

During Brown's era,LSU set the record for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th largest paid attendance for a regular season game in college basketball history.

Also, if heads of states throughout this troubled world of ours had real concern and consideration for others as Dale Brown, I doubt if our racial, religious, and political problems would be a major issue.

"[16] Packer stated, "Dale Brown is one of those rare individuals who has the ability to take on the toughest of tasks regardless of the odds against success and come out a winner.

"[This quote needs a citation] On January 4, 2022, LSU inaugurated "Dale Brown Court" as the home venue for the Tigers basketball team in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.