BATON ROUGE – In four seasons as a member of national championship football and track teams at LSU, former Tiger hurdler Bennie Brazell became one of LSU’s most recognizable two-sport stars during his collegiate career that featured national titles in track and field in 2002 and 2004 and football in 2003.
A member of the LSU track and field program from 2002-05, Brazell actually owns the unique distinction of being the school’s first student-athlete to win national championships with two different sports teams.
He was LSU’s only athlete to do so until former Tigers Chad Jones and Jared Mitchell starred on the 2009 College World Series Championship baseball team, after claiming their first career national championship on the football field with a win at the 2008 BCS National Championship Game after the 2007 season.
A product of Westbury High School in Houston, Brazell made an immediate impact on the LSU track and field program as the nation’s No. 1 high school prospect in the 400-meter hurdles.
During his freshman season, Brazell scored eight points as the NCAA outdoor runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles while breaking the school record in the event with a time of 48.80 seconds. He also anchored LSU to a national title in the 4×100-meter relay that ran the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history at 38.32, while also running the third leg on the Tigers’ bronze-medal winning 4×400-meter relay team.
Brazell’s 14 points helped lead LSU to a national championship in its own backyard with the 2002 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships being held at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
Brazell helped guide LSU to a second NCAA team title at the onset of his junior season in 2004 with their victory at the NCAA Indoor Championships. With the Lady Tigers also winning their team championship during the event, LSU made history as the first program to sweep both the men’s and women’s team titles at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships.
He went on to represent the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, after finishing a stellar junior season at LSU. After advancing to the Olympic final in the 400-meter hurdles in his first and only Olympics appearance for the United States, Brazell finished in eighth place in the competition.
Brazell certainly went out with a bang as a senior in 2005 with his NCAA Championships performance as he enjoyed performances in the 400 hurdles and 4×400 relay that eclipsed previous collegiate records.
In the most exciting national final in the 400-meter hurdles in NCAA Championships history, Brazell and Florida’s Kerron Clement each shattered the collegiate record as Clement struck gold in 47.56 and Brazell took home the silver in 47.67, a time that remains as the LSU school record in the event.
While Brazell came up just short of owning the collegiate record in the 400-meter hurdles with his second place to Clement in the national final, he would not be denied in the final of the 4×400-meter relay. That’s where he ran a 44.8-second split on the third leg to set the collegiate record at 2:59.59 with Reggie Dardar (46.4), Kelly Willie (44.4) and Xavier Carter (44.0) and win the NCAA event crown.
Brazell enjoyed one of the most prolific careers in the history of LSU track and field while winning a total of five NCAA titles as a member of the Tigers’ fearsome relay teams to go along with what was then a school record 14 individual All-America honors. He now trails only the 19 All-America accolades won by the great Kelly Willie in four seasons from 2003-06 on the school’s all-time list.
The Houston native also enjoyed a successful career on the football field while appearing in 43 contests in his four seasons as a wide receiver and special team standout. Brazell appeared in 11 games for the Tigers during their national championship season in 2003, including the 2004 Sugar Bowl.
Brazell wrapped up his football career at LSU with 17 catches for 341 yards and three touchdowns, before being selected in Round 7 of the 2006 NFL Draft as the 231st overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals.
In an exclusive interview with LSUsports.net recorded before the start of the second-annual LSU Track & Field Team Awards and Alumni Recognition Banquet on April 22, Brazell talked about the importance of playing two sports at the collegiate level and how that affected his decision to attend LSU, as well as what kind of challenges that presented as a two-sport athlete.
In addition, Brazell shared some of his greatest memories both on the track and on the football field along with what he is doing with his life now that his athletic career has come to an end.