Gene Keady
Gene Keady (born May 21, 1936)
Teams coached: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, Purdue Boilermakers
Western Kentucky record: 38-19 (.667)
Purdue record: 493-287 (.632) **
Overall record^: 531-306 (.634) **
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 17 (1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003) **
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 5 (1988, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 1982)
- NIT Appearances: 5 (1981, 1982, 1992, 2001, 2004)
- Big Ten Regular Season Champion: 6 (1984, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1996)
- Ohio Valley Regular Season Champion: 1 (1980)
- Ohio Valley Tournament Champion: 1 (1980)
Awards:
- AP Coach of the Year: 1 (1996)
- NABC Coach of the Year: 2 (1994, 2000)
- Henry Iba Award: 2 (1984, 1996)
- UPI Coach of the Year: 1 (1996)
- Big Ten Coach of the Year: 7 (1984, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000)
- John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award (2007)
- NABC Golden Anniversary Award (2010)
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2023)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2013)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2010-2015 | St. John’s (special asst) |
| 2005-2006 | Toronto Raptors (asst) |
| 1980-2005 | Purdue |
| 1978-1980 | Western Kentucky |
| 1975-1978 | Arkansas (asst) |
| 1966-1974 | Hutchinson JC |
| 1965-1966 | Hutchinson JC (asst) |
Gene Keady Facts
- Lloyd Eugene Keady
- Born May 21, 1936
- Hometown: Larned, Kansas
- Alma Mater: Kansas State University (BS, 1958 & M.Ed, 1964)
- Lettered in football, baseball and track – but not basketball – at Kansas State
- Drafted in the 19th round of the 1958 NFL Draft but did not play in the league
- Started his coaching career at Beloit HS (KS), leading the basketball team to a 142-47 record during his six-year tenure
- Jumped to the college level in 1965 after getting a master’s degree, spending one year as an assistant and then eight years as the head coach at Hutchinson JC (KS)
- Went 187-48 overall during that tenure, including a runner-up finish in the 1973 JC National Tournament
- Worked for three seasons as an assistant to Eddie Sutton at Arkansas before getting his first Division I head coaching job at Western Kentucky in 1978
- Went 38-19 in two seasons at WKU, including at OVC title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 1980
- Cemented his legacy in college basketball during his 25-year tenure at Purdue, winning nearly 500 games, claiming six Big Ten titles and going to 16 NCAA Tournaments and five NITs with the Boilermakers
- Reached the Elite Eight twice and Sweet Sixteen an additional three times, but never got to the Final Four
- Notable during his time in West Lafayette was his rivalry with legendary Indiana head coach Bob Knight and the Hoosiers; both teams were in the running for league titles every year
- Assisted Rudy Tomjanovich and Team USA at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning a gold medal without losing a game
- After retiring from Purdue in 2005, Keady spent one year as an advisor to the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and then became an television analyst for the Big Ten Network
- Returned to coaching in 2010 as a special assistant at St. John’s for his own former Purdue assistant, Steve Lavin
- Inducted into the College Basketball HOF in 2013 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball HOF in 2023
- Along with his first wife, Patricia, has three children; now married to Kathleen
Gene Keady Coaching Tree
- Carson Cunningham (Incarnate Word)
- Linc Darner (Tampa, Green Bay, Florida Southern, Saint Joseph’s IN)
- Clem Haskins (Minnesota, Western Kentucky)
- Steve Lavin (San Diego, St. John’s, UCLA)
- Paul Lusk (Missouri State)
- Alan Major (Charlotte)
- Cuonzo Martin (Missouri, California, Tennessee, Missouri State)
- Matt Painter (Purdue, Southern Illinois)
- Kevin Stallings (Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Illinois State)
- Bruce Weber (Kansas State, Illinois, Southern Illinois)
- Tracy Webster (DePaul)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the Division I level only
** Listed accomplishments for this coach do not include wins or appearances later vacated by the NCAA
