Joe Dean Jr., Son Of Former LSU Athletic Director And A Former Player And Coach, Passes Away

TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES

Joe Dean Jr., who followed in his father’s footsteps throughout his career, died on Sunday at age 71 after some health issues.

Dean Jr. grew up in Baton Rouge, where his father Joe Dean of Brazil, Indiana, settled after playing basketball for the Tigers from 1948-52. A two-time All-Southeastern Conference player for the Tigers, Dean played pro basketball briefly before getting into business and becoming a marketing executive for Converse, the major athletic shoe company in the 1970s. Dean also became famous for announcing SEC basketball games on regional television and for his signature phrase after a swished basket – “String Music.” Dean then became LSU’s athletic director in 1987 and held that job for 14 years.

Dean Jr. played basketball at Mississippi State from 1974-76 under coach Kermit Davis and became a graduate assistant coach along with future LSU basketball coach John Brady. The two became friends, and Brady would spend weekends at the Dean home in Baton Rouge. This eventually led to the elder Dean becoming Brady’s chief reference for basketball coaching jobs that led him to becoming the Tigers’ coach in 1997.

Dean Jr. became an assistant coach at Kentucky from 1977-83 under Joe B. Hall and was on the other side for some famous games between Hall and the Wildcats and LSU coach Dale Brown’s Tigers. Kentucky won the 1977-78 national championship with a 30-2 record (16-2 SEC), but it lost at LSU, 95-94, in overtime on Feb. 11, 1978, even though the Tigers’ five starters fouled out.

Dean Jr. was Birmingham Southern’s basketball coach from 1983-89 and coached at Central Florida from 1989-93.

RIP to a Basketball Legend – Joe Dean Jr

My childhood memories are flooded w/ basketball and a lot of those had to do with Coach Dean’s summer camps — “COLONNADE ALL STAR BASKETBALL CAMP AND COUNTRY CLUB, HEY!”

He impacted so many people through his charisma and infectious… https://t.co/KL1tpkzFhT

— Christian Schweers (@CoachSchweers) August 17, 2026

From 1993-1999, Dean worked as vice-president for sales and marketing for the Colonnade Group, Inc. in Birmingham and was an SEC basketball analyst, often pairing with Tim Brando.

From 1999-2016, Dean was Birmingham Southern’s athletic director.

Dean’s son Scott worked in LSU’s sports information department.