Gene Keady
One of the nation's most respected basketball coaches, Gene Keady recently completed his 25th and final season at the helm of the Purdue basketball program while becoming another one of the fabled coaches in the great history and tradition of Indiana basketball.
With six Big Ten Championships and six National Coach of the Year awards (second-most by any coach), his coaching career at Purdue speaks for itself. He became Purdue's all-time-winningest coach on December 6, 1997 by defeating Louisville 87-69. In his 25 years at Purdue, he notched 512 victories.
The Boilermakers were successful in the classroom as well as on the basketball court. Nearly 90 percent of the seniors who stayed at Purdue for four seasons under Keady graduated. In Keady's tenure, Boilermakers were selected Academic All-Big Ten 36 times, including seven Academic All-America picks. Keady was also a prominent figure in United States basketball as a member of Rudy Tomjanovich's coaching staff for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, helping Team USA to a gold medal.
In addition to his coach of the year honors, Keady is also a member of the National Junior College Basketball Hall of Fame (as both a player and a coach), the Kansas Hall of Fame and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a 2004 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame finalist and is the recipient of the 2005 National Football Foundation’s Distinguished American Award.
Most noted for his sideline intensity, Keady is one of the most honest, approachable and charitable people the game has ever known. His annual golf outing raises more than $40,000 a year for Cystic Fibrosis. He’s been actively involved in Coaches vs. Cancer, and is a more than frequent speaker for various causes during the year that support youth throughout the state of Indiana. He also has overseen the development and management of the Keady’s Kids program for the United Way.One of the nation's most respected basketball coaches, Gene Keady recently completed his 25th and final season at the helm of the Purdue basketball program while becoming another one of the fabled coaches in the great history and tradition of Indiana basketball.
With six Big Ten Championships and six National Coach of the Year awards (second-most by any coach), his coaching career at Purdue speaks for itself. He became Purdue's all-time-winningest coach on December 6, 1997 by defeating Louisville 87-69. In his 25 years at Purdue, he notched 512 victories.
The Boilermakers were successful in the classroom as well as on the basketball court. Nearly 90 percent of the seniors who stayed at Purdue for four seasons under Keady graduated. In Keady's tenure, Boilermakers were selected Academic All-Big Ten 36 times, including seven Academic All-America picks. Keady was also a prominent figure in United States basketball as a member of Rudy Tomjanovich's coaching staff for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, helping Team USA to a gold medal.
In addition to his coach of the year honors, Keady is also a member of the National Junior College Basketball Hall of Fame (as both a player and a coach), the Kansas Hall of Fame and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a 2004 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame finalist and is the recipient of the 2005 National Football Foundation’s Distinguished American Award.
Most noted for his sideline intensity, Keady is one of the most honest, approachable and charitable people the game has ever known. His annual golf outing raises more than $40,000 a year for Cystic Fibrosis. He’s been actively involved in Coaches vs. Cancer, and is a more than frequent speaker for various causes during the year that support youth throughout the state of Indiana. He also has overseen the development and management of the Keady’s Kids program for the United Way.