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When Dale Brown arrived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in March 1972, he arrived with a dream that was perceived by many who knew the LSU Basketball program as impossible. The dream was to make basketball a fan favorite in Tiger Country and to make it a nationally respected program as well.
Dale Brown’s straightforward, determined approach, combined with his knowledge of the game, excellent recruiting skills, and his positive philosophy made his dream a reality. Equally amazing was his 25-year career as the Tiger’s head coach, winningest coach in LSU Basketball history. He also is the second winningest coach in SEC history. 104 of 160 of Brown’s players received their college degrees and those that attended LSU for four years had a graduation rate of 84%.
He began his coaching career as a high school coach in North Dakota where he coached basketball, wrestling, football and track and field. He was an assistant coach at Utah State for five years and one year at Washington State before becoming the head coach at LSU in 1972.
In high school in North Dakota, Brown was the states leading scorer in basketball and set the school record in the 440 yard dash.
Brown earned 12 letters in basketball, football and track at Minot State University, making him the school’s only athlete to achieve that goal. In 1957 he received a B.S. degree from Minot State University and in 1964 he received a M.S. degree from the University of Oregon.
Coach Brown is a member of the North Dakota and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the North Dakota and Louisiana Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. The SEC honored Brown by inducting him as an SEC Living Legend.
Brown was a basketball coach for 44 years and now is a motivational speaker and author.
SPEECH TOPICS
Winning the Game of Life – We must learn to negotiate over life’s four hurdles: 1) I Can’t, 2) Failure, 3) Handicaps, and 4) Know Yourself.
The Tools of Leadership – Being a leader is difficult. It appears glamorous, but it is more often lonely and thankless. The best leaders are actually servants. If there was ever a moment in history when leadership was needed, it is now. A common quality of great leaders through the ages is they have been masters at articulating an appropriate vision of the future. In any leadership position, the most important aspect of your job will be getting your team to work together. The underlying theme of teamwork will be your ability to convey a renewed sense of optimism. Your role as the captain will give the ship direction, purpose and ultimately success.
We Are All In This Together – To live by relying on one another implies a risk, but without some trust in humanity, life would be unlivable. One of our greatest leaders, Abraham Lincoln said, “If you trust, you will be disappointed occasionally, but if you mistrust, you will be miserable all the time.” Naturally, we all have traits that aggravate one another, but we should work hard on liking each other and overcoming our own bad traits. The more you grow as a person, the less shocked you become about people who are different from yourself. When a person is wrappe3d up in himself, the package is usually pretty small. It is a law of life, as certain as gravity, that to live fully, we must learn to us things and love people---not love things and use people.
Dare To Dream – We have more depression, more fragile relationships, more crime, and less happiness. What’s happened to us? Where did we lose our way? How come a society that has enjoyed more prosperity and more luxury than all of the generations before us never seem to be able to find the one thing that we all say we are in search of, happiness? Before we can ever expect to build a life that is meaningful and fulfilling we must see the futility of materialism and selfishness. So much of our life can be consumed with things that are not critical for our happiness. Getting rich or being famous has displaced the development of a meaningful philosophy of life. Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.
The Importance Of A Spiritual Formation In Families – I don’t profess to be an expert, but as a coach and teacher for many years and as a parent and grandparent, I asked myself what values or virtues were the most important to me in guiding young people. I came up with a whole list of adjectives.
But the two that stand out for me as the foundation of a truly Spiritual life are Love, and Faith. Without Love there can be no compassion, patience, generosity, honesty, integrity or loyalty. Without Faith there can be no courage, persistence, discipline or hope. Faith is what binds us together. It directly affects how we view ourselves and how we will relate to others. This common thread can be seen in our most important and sacred teachings – whether it be the teachings of the Bible, the Koran, or the Torah. Faith and love is what grounds us and sets us free to live a truly authentic and peaceful life.
A human being without faith, or reverence for anything, is a human being morally adrift. As parents, teachers, and mentors our most important mission in this life has to be the spiritual formation of our children. It is our job to ground them with the necessary foundations. Not with just our words, but more importantly by our actions. They desperately want to be led properly.
What Others Are Saying About Dale Brown As A Speaker
“Electrifying is the way I would describe Dale Brown’s magnificent speech I attended, he had the sizeable crowd to the edge of their seats. Having been employed by four of the top Fortune 500 companies in my fifty years in business, I’ve heard many motivational speakers, but none as riveting as his style and delivery.”
--John L. Pavlish
“Dale Brown’s presentation at the National Intergovernmental Audit Forum Conference in New Orleans was the best motivational speech that I have ever heard. The fact that he received a standing ovation from a group of governmental auditors—who can be a tough sell—was an outstanding tribute to the message he delivered.” --Charles L. Culkin, Exec. Director Advancing Government Accountability
“Dale’s presentation was inspiring, informative, entertaining and motivating. He kept everyone’s attention, he had them laughing, and touched their hearts. The response from participants reinforces our own observations. We’re hearing words like ‘best ever,’ and ‘great,’ and ‘right on,’ and ‘when can we have him back.’ Simply, he was a hit.” --Dennis W. Stostad, State Farm Insurance Companies
“Everyone was just ecstatic about Dale Brown’s presentation to us in Hawaii. It is one of the finest hours I can remember at any convention I have attended. One of the measures of a speaker that I always use is how well they relate to the group—not from the stage, but on a one-on-one small group basis, before and after the official presentation. Dale passed that test with flying colors! People like to “rub shoulders” with the celebrity, and he was there for them whenever they wanted. Finally, a key element of hiring speakers is the planning state—the speaker and planner discussing the group and the company, philosophies and problems, likes and dislikes. He was one of the best I’ve dealt with as he took the time to visit and get to know me and my group.” --David J. Boyd, Physicians Mutual Insurance Company
“Dale Brown is one of the most fabulous motivational speakers I have ever heard. Not only does he speak about motivation, he lives it every day.” -- Bob Richards
“Coach Brown has lots to say and says it extremely well.” --Zig Ziglar
“Dale has a fabulous message and one he should share with as many people as possible.” --Cavett Robert
“I think the quality I admire most in Dale Brown is his ability to help others see the best in themselves and inspire them to live up to that ‘best’. That is a rare gift indeed.” --Lawrence Welk
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