SAN DIEGO - Harold “Hal” Brown, a dual-sport athlete at San Diego State in the 1950s who went onto become the first African American administrator at SDSU and a champion for civil rights, recently passed away. He was 92.
After serving in the military, Brown lettered three seasons with the Aztec men’s basketball team from 1957-59. Joining the program for the second semester of the 1957 campaign and playing in 10 games that year, Brown finished his career averaging 9.0 points over 60 career games, including a career-high 11.6 points as a senior for the 1958-59 campaign. Brown also lettered one season with the SDSU baseball team in 1958.
According to Cal State.edu, Brown earned a speech and physical education degree at San Diego State and later a master’s degree in business administration at Fordham. In 2017, he was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by the Trustees of the California State University.
Brown was president of Kappa Alpha Psi, the first black fraternity at San Diego State, and a student council representative who challenged the discriminatory practices of fraternities and sororities.
Brown co-founded and chaired the local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality in 1961. Despite being arrested and jailed for protesting discriminatory hiring, he continued to challenge unfair employment and housing practices by organizing demonstrations and sit-ins throughout San Diego.
After working as a teacher, a banker and a Peace Corps officer in Lesotho, Africa, Brown returned to SDSU in 1971 to work in Academic Affairs. He established the Afro-American Studies program, led creation of its curriculum and became its first director. He also created a certificate program in community economic development within the Fowler College of Business. This program later expanded into the Center for Community Economic Development under Brown’s direction, offering classes in finance, accounting and leadership to train professionals to develop underserved communities. He retired from SDSU in 1997 but continued as director of the center until 2004.
Read more about Hal Brown on San Diego State’s official website.
SDSU Athletics Mourns the Passing of Hal Brown
Brown was a dual-sport athlete at San Diego State in the 1950s and was a champion of civil rights.
