Mike McConathy announces retirement after 23 seasons at Northwestern State

After 23 seasons as the head coach at Northwestern State, Mike McConathy is calling it a career. The 66-year-old went 330-377 overall, winning three Southland titles and going to three NCAA Tournaments along the way.

“My 23 years at Northwestern State have been memorable,” Coach McConathy said in a statement. “This place means so much to me and my family, and to have the ability and the opportunity to do what we did will forever be a part of me. (Former NSU President) Dr. (Randy) Webb and (former NSU AD) Greg (Burke) gave me a chance to come home in 1999, and I am forever thankful to them for that. We wanted to win games, but it was always more important that we prepared our student-athletes to be more than basketball players. We wanted them to be good students, good players and, most importantly, good people. I believe, for the past 23 years, we have done that.”

McConathy is a Louisiana-native who played at Louisiana Tech, where he was named Southland POY in 1976. He would later win two Southland COY awards at NSU, the only men’s player/coach to win both in their career.

“Mike McConathy’s impact on Northwestern State men’s basketball and the athletic department as a whole cannot be overstated,” said AD Kevin Bostian. “His legacy is not defined strictly by the number of games he won here but by the number of young men he affected in a positive manner away from the game of basketball. His dedication, loyalty and genuineness has made him a pilar of the Natchitoches community. He has been a servant leader in every sense of the term, and what he and his staff and players have built stands a testament to Coach Mike as a coach and as a person.”

credit to Northwestern State Athletics for the image