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  Gene Keady
Gene Keady

Player Profile
Hometown:
Larned, Kan.

Position:
Head Coach

Experience:
25th Season

Gene Keady Bio in PDF Format
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One of the nation's most respected coaches, Gene Keady is in his 25th and final season at the helm of the Purdue basketball program.

During the 2003-04 season, Keady was named one of 16 finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame. He also earned his 500th win at Purdue on Jan. 14, with a 53-51 win over No. 18 Wisconsin.

Keady became Purdue's all-time winningest coach on Dec. 6, 1997, by defeating Louisville and Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum, 87-69. In 24 years at Purdue, Keady has notched 505 victories. He passed Ward Lambert, who won 371 games with the Boilermakers from 1916 to 1945.

With six Big Ten championships and six national coach of the year awards (second-most by any coach), his record speaks for itself. He is the Big Ten's third-winningest coach all-time by percentage (.661), and is second in victories (262).

Keady's six national coach of the year awards came in 1984, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 2000. His most recent honors came in 2000 when he was selected national coach of the year by College Sports Magazine, Basketball Weekly, Chevrolet/CBS-TV Sports, Associated Press, United Press International and Sports Illustrated. He also received the Henry Iba Award (selected by the United States Basketball Writers Association).

Keady has led Purdue to six Big Ten championships (1984, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995 and 1996) in 24 years, including three straight outright titles from 1994 to 1996. That feat has been accomplished by only one other team -- Ohio State from 1960 to 1962.

Purdue has finished in the upper division of the Big Ten 18 times during Keady's tenure. The Boilermakers finished second in the league in 1983, 1990 and 1997.

He has been named Big Ten coach of the year a record seven times (1984, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 2000), tying former Indiana coach Bob Knight for the most all-time selections. Keady is the only coach to win the award three straight years.

Two of Keady's teams hold the record for most wins in a season with 29. The 1987-88 squad posted a 29-4 record. The 1993-94 Boilermakers posted a 29-5 record.

Overall, the Boilermakers have won 25 or more games six times with Keady at the helm: 29-4 (1987-88), 29-5 (1993-94), 26-6 (1995-96), 28-8 (1997-98), 25-5 (1986-87) and 25-7 (1994-95).

The Boilermakers have had 20-plus wins 14 times under Keady. Purdue posted a school-record six straight 20-win seasons between 1983 and 1988.

Keady's tally of 20-win seasons is by far the most by any coach in school history. Other Purdue coaches with 20-win seasons include Fred Schaus (2), Lee Rose (2) and George King (1).

Keady is the dean of Big Ten coaches as he enters his 25th season at Purdue.


Under Keady, Purdue has made 22 postseason tournament appearances in 24 years (17 times in the NCAA Tournament) and has averaged 21.2 wins per season.

The Boilermakers' best performances in the "Big Dance" came in 1994 and 2000 with a pair of appearances in the Elite Eight. Purdue advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1988, 1998 and 1999.

Purdue has finished in the top 10 of the final AP poll six times under Keady: 1984 (10th); 1987 (7th); 1988 (3rd); 1990 (10th); 1994 (3rd); and 1996 (T-4th). Purdue finished 11th in 1998. In 2000, Purdue finished ranked 15th in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

A member and former president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Keady is one of the leading spokesmen on issues surrounding college basketball. Keady gives back to the game of basketball whenever he has a chance. He is very accommodating to the news media, performs charity work and makes numerous speaking appearances throughout the year.

Keady also is a prominent figure in United States basketball. Most recently, he was a member of Rudy Tomjanovich's coaching staff for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, helping Team USA to a gold medal.

Prior to that, Keady coached the U.S. entry in the 1989 World University Games to a gold medal in West Germany. It was the United States' first championship in international competition in three years. Keady was the head coach of the United States for the 1991 Pan-American Games and led the team to a bronze medal. Keady earlier led a group of collegiate all-stars in the U.S. Olympic Developmental Program to second place in the 1985 Jones Cup in Taiwan. Keady's first international experience came in the summer of 1979. Along with three other coaches, Keady guided the National Sports Festival Team to a gold medal. He also assisted in selecting the 1984 and 1988 U.S. Olympic squads, and was chosen by Tomjanovich to help coach the USA Basketball Senior National Team in the 1999 Americas Qualification Tournament for the 2000 Olympic Games. Overall, he has helped the United States win three gold medals, a silver and a bronze, while establishing an impressive 40-2 record (.952).

Keady always has been known for getting the most out of his talent. He gets each player to believe in and perform his role, and successfully blends together the diverse talents and personalities of a team.

Keady has an overall record of 505-259 at Purdue (.661). In 26 seasons as a Division I collegiate head coach, he owns a record of 543-268 (.670). Counting his time in junior college, high school and four stints as USA Basketball head coach, his lifetime head coaching ledger is 872-360, a .708 winning percentage.

The Boilermakers have been successful in the classroom as well as on the basketball court. Nearly 90 percent of the seniors who have stayed at Purdue for four seasons under Keady have graduated. In Keady's tenure, Boilermakers have been selected Academic All-Big Ten 35 times, including seven Academic All-America picks (Brian Walker, 1981; Keith Edmonson, 1982; Steve Reid, 1983 and 1984; Craig Riley, 1992; and Carson Cunningham, 2000 and 2001).

Keady coached the consensus national player of the year, Glenn Robinson, in 1993-94. Robinson led the nation in scoring average (30.3) and set a Purdue and Big Ten single-season scoring record (1,030 points). Overall, Keady-coached players have earned All-America status three times (Robinson twice; Keith Edmonson, 1982) and first team All-Big Ten 15 times. Thirteen of Keady's players have been NBA draftees, and three were named Big Ten MVP (Robinson, 1994; Stephen Scheffler, 1990; and Jim Rowinski, 1984).

Keady was named Purdue's 17th head basketball coach on April 11, 1980.

Keady came to Purdue after a two-year stint as head coach at Western Kentucky. He led the Hilltoppers to a 38-19 record. They were co-champions of the Ohio Valley Conference his second season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to taking the reins at Western Kentucky, Keady was an assistant coach at Arkansas from 1975 to 1978. He helped Eddie Sutton mold the Razorback program into one of the nation's best. In doing so, Keady earned his reputation as a tireless recruiter by proving instrumental in Arkansas' recruiting its famous "Triplets" of Ron Brewer, Marvin Delph and Sidney Moncrief. Arkansas went 94-24 in Keady's four seasons as an assistant and finished third in the NCAA Tournament in his final campaign.

From 1966 to 1974, Keady coached at Hutchinson (Kansas) Junior College. He was an assistant the first season before taking over as head coach for the 1966-67 season.

Hutchinson won six league titles and qualified for six national tournaments under Keady, including a second-place showing and a 29-4 overall record in 1972-73. Keady was named junior college coach of the year in Region Six in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Before going to Hutchinson, Keady began his head coaching career in Beloit, Kan., at Beloit High School from 1959 to 1965, where he compiled a 102-47 record.

Keady attended Garden City (Kansas) Junior College, where he was a four-sport star, including an All-American as a football quarterback. He then went on to Kansas State, where he played baseball, football and ran track while earning a bachelor's degree in biological sciences and physical education. He played briefly for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1958 before joining the coaching ranks at Beloit High. Keady earned his master's degree in education from Kansas State in 1964. He is enshrined in the National Junior College Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach, and in the Kansas Hall of Fame as a coach.

A native of Larned, Kan., Keady and his wife, Patricia, reside in Lafayette. He has three children: Lisa, Beverly and Dan.

- A LOOK AT GENE KEADY -
Born: May 21, 1936
Hometown: Larned, Kan.
High School: Larned
College: Kansas State '58 (B.S.), Kansas State '64 (M.S.)
Wife: Patricia
Children: Lisa, Beverly and Dan

NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
2002-03 Head Coach Purdue Second Round
1999-00 Head Coach Purdue "Elite Eight"
1998-99 Head Coach Purdue "Sweet 16"
1997-98 Head Coach Purdue "Sweet 16"
1996-97 Head Coach Purdue Second Round
1995-96 Head Coach Purdue Second Round
1994-95 Head Coach Purdue Second Round
1993-94 Head Coach Purdue "Elite Eight"
1992-93 Head Coach Purdue First Round
1990-91 Head Coach Purdue First Round
1989-90 Head Coach Purdue Second Round
1987-88 Head Coach Purdue "Sweet 16"
1986-87 Head Coach Purdue Second Round
1985-86 Head Coach Purdue First Round
1984-85 Head Coach Purdue First Round
1983-84 Head Coach Purdue First Round
1982-83 Head Coach Purdue Second Round
1981-82 Head Coach Purdue Second Round
1979-80 Head Coach Western Kentucky First Round
1977-78 Assistant Coach Arkansas Final Four (3rd)
1976-77 Assistant Coach Arkansas First Round

COLLEGIATE COACHING EXPERIENCE
1980-pres. Head Coach Purdue
1979-80 Head Coach Western Kentucky
1975-78 Assistant Coach Arkansas
1967-74 Head Coach Hutchison Junior College
1966 Assistant Coach Hutchison Junior College

USA BASKETBALL COACHING EXPERIENCE
2000 Assistant Coach Olympic - Sydney, Australia
1999 Assistant Coach Olympic Qualifying
1991 Head Coach Pan American Games
1989 Head Coach World University Games
1985 Head Coach Olympic Developmental

ACCOLADES
Big Ten Coach of the Year 1984, '88, '90, '94, '95, '96, 2000
National Coach of the Year 1984, '88, '94, '95, '96, 2000
Halls of Fame National Junior College Basketball (player and coach)

GENE KEADY'S COACHING HONORS
HALLS OF FAME

  • National Junior College Basketball Hall of Fame (as both a player and coach)
  • Big Ten Coach-of-the-Year (seven times - league record)
  • 1984 (Big Ten champs), '88 (Big Ten champs), '90, '94 (Big Ten champs), '95 (Big Ten champs), '96 (Big Ten champs) and '00 (second place)
  • National Coach-of-the-Year (six times)
  • 1984 National Coach of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), CBS Sports, Chevrolet Scholarship Program, Hoop Scoop and Iowa Rebounders Club
  • 1988 National Coach of the Year by NBC Sports
  • 1994 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Coach of the Year
  • 1995 National Coach of the Year by Chevrolet/CBS Sports
  • 1996 National Coach of the Year by Chevrolet/CBS Sports, the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), College Sports Magazine, Basketball Weekly; recipient of the Henry Iba Award (selected by the USBWA)
  • 2000 National Asscociation of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Coach of the Year

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