LSU votes to change Dale Brown Court name, add women's basketball coach Sue Gunter

BATON ROUGE - The LSU Board of Supervisors has voted to change the name of the Dale Brown Court to include former LSU women's basketball coach Sue Gunter, the board determined Friday.

Board representative Jay Blossman Jr. was the only member to object to the proposal that was passed by a 14-1 vote.

To allow the vote to pass, the board's academic committee also approved the proposal by a 6-2 vote. Board members Glenn Armentor and Collis Temple Jr. voted against the measure.

Friday's decision is a reversal of the board's vote in September 2021 when it named the Pete Maravich Assembly Center court after Dale Brown – the winningest coach in LSU men's basketball history – by a 12-3 vote and voted against naming the court after Brown and Gunter by the same margin.

The Louisiana state legislature also voted unanimously, in both the House and Senate, to name the court after Brown in April 2021. LSU later honored Brown with the naming of the court in a ceremony at the LSU vs. Kentucky game in January 2022.

LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey and former LSU baseball and basketball player Ben McDonald were among those in attendance at Friday's board meeting. However, LSU board member Mary Leach Werner, who was strongly against naming the court just after Brown in 2021, was not present at Friday's board meeting.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and LSU President William V. Tate have been among those involved with altering the name of the court, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jeffrey Marx; Nobel Prize-nominated author Trent Angers; and Fox Sports broadcaster Tim Brando – three journalists who hold close relationships with Brown – have confirmed to The Advertiser.

"At some point last year, Gov. Edwards was contacted by some members of the LSU Board and asked his opinion about whether Sue Gunter’s name should be added to the basketball court," a spokesperson for the governor said in a statement to The Advertiser. "After reviewing the achievements of Coach Dale Brown and Coach Gunter over the years, the governor agreed that her name certainly warrants inclusion in the name of the court. The governor believes the tremendous accomplishments by both coaches deserve to be acknowledged, and he appreciates the contributions they have made to the men’s and women’s basketball programs at LSU and to the state as a whole."

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DALE BROWN COURT:What we know about LSU potentially changing Dale Brown Court name, adding Sue Gunter

DICK VITALE CLARIFIES BROWN REMARKS:ESPN's Dick Vitale says LSU should honor Sue Gunter but not change Dale Brown Court name

Angers, who was instrumental in getting the court named after Brown in the first place, also told The Advertiser that he bypassed the LSU Hall of Fame committee's approval of naming the court after Brown, instead bringing the matter directly to the board for a vote.

"I went over their heads," Angers said. "I went to (LSU board member) Glenn Armentor and I said, 'Look, the board of supervisors is the ultimate authority at LSU. And these people underneath y'all, they are essentially sabotaging a recommendation that should be made because Dale Brown is actually a national hero.' "

Brown reached the Final Four twice in 25 years at LSU, winning 448 games with the Tigers. Gunter spent 22 years at LSU, leading the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament 14 times, winning 442 games and getting inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Gunter also has a statue inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU basketball: Dale Brown Court will include Sue Gunter after vote