# Joe McKeown

Joseph McKeown (/məˈkjuːən/ mə-KEW-ən; born May 12, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former player who currently serves the head women's basketball coach at Northwestern University. McKeown previously served as head coach at New Mexico State and George Washington University until joining Northwestern in 2008. He is the father of former Northwestern women's basketball player and current commentator Meghan McKeown.

## Playing career

McKeown attended Mercer County Community College and then was a star basketball player at Kent State, and was named co-captain during his senior season. After graduating, McKeown became an assistant at Kent State and then Oklahoma.

## Coaching career

He has over 750 wins as of March 5, 2024. He won the Atlantic 10 Conference's coach of the year award a record 5 times during his tenure at George Washington, and has also received the same honor in the Big Ten Conference. McKeown remains George Washington's all-time leading coach in terms of wins and winning percentage. His teams have reached the postseason 19 times, with a 20th postseason trip all but certain in 2020.

### New Mexico State

In 1986, he was named head women's basketball coach at New Mexico State. He posted a 68–20 record.

### George Washington University

In the 1991–92 season, he led the Colonials to a national ranking of 6th, which is the program's highest ranking ever. From 1991 to 1998, the team posted eight consecutive 20 win seasons including 5 Atlantic 10 titles. In 2007, he led the team to a 28–4 record, breaking school records for wins and winning percentage. He previously served as an assistant coach at Kent State, and Oklahoma. McKeown left George Washington after the 2007–08 season.

### Northwestern University

McKeown and his family moved to Chicago to find better healthcare and services for his son with autism. Since 2008, he has been the head women's basketball coach at Northwestern University. McKeown was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2020 when the Wildcats, who had not been picked to finish in the league's top five in the preseason by league coaches and media and had been tapped by an ESPN panel to finish anywhere from 7th to 12th in the 14-team league, shared the Big Ten regular-season title with Maryland.

## USA Basketball

McKeown was selected to be the head coach of the USA representative to the World University Games held in Seoul, South Korea July 5–13, 2015. The team won all six games, including the championship game against Canada. The first three quarters the game were quite close with four ties and four lead changes. In the fourth quarter the USA exploded for 34 points to pull out to a large lead, and won the gold-medal with a score of 82–63.

## Head coaching record

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| New Mexico State Aggies (High Country Athletic Conference) (1986–1989) ||||||
| 1986–87 | New Mexico State | 23–7 | 10–2 | | |
| 1987–88 | New Mexico State | 26–3 | 10–0 | | |
| 1988–89 | New Mexico State | 19–10 | 8–2 | | |
| New Mexico State: | New Mexico State: | 68–20 (.773) | 28–4 (.875) | | |
| George Washington Colonials (Atlantic 10 Conference) (1989–2008) ||||||
| 1989–90 | George Washington | 14–14 | 8–10 | 6th | |
| 1990–91 | George Washington | 23–7 | 15–3 | T–2nd | NCAA second round |
| 1991–92 | George Washington | 25–7 | 11–5 | T–2nd | NCAA second round |
| 1992–93 | George Washington | 20–11 | 11–3 | 2nd | NWIT Consolation |
| 1993–94 | George Washington | 23–8 | 13–3 | T–1st | NCAA second round |
| 1994–95 | George Washington | 26–6 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1995–96 | George Washington | 26–7 | 14–2 | 1st (West) | NCAA second round |
| 1996–97 | George Washington | 28–6 | 16–0 | 1st (West) | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1997–98 | George Washington | 20–10 | 12–4 | 1st (West) | NCAA second round |
| 1998–99 | George Washington | 19–9 | 12–4 | 3rd | |
| 1999–00 | George Washington | 26–6 | 14–2 | 1st (West) | NCAA second round |
| 2000–01 | George Washington | 22–10 | 14–2 | 2nd | NCAA first round |
| 2001–02 | George Washington | 21–9 | 15–1 | 1st (West) | WNIT Second round |
| 2002–03 | George Washington | 25–7 | 15–1 | 1st (West) | NCAA second round |
| 2003–04 | George Washington | 22–8 | 14–2 | 1st (West) | NCAA first round |
| 2004–05 | George Washington | 23–9 | 13–3 | T–1st (West) | NCAA second round |
| 2005–06 | George Washington | 23–9 | 13–3 | T–1st | NCAA second round |
| 2006–07 | George Washington | 28–4 | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2007–08 | George Washington | 27–7 | 12–2 | T–1st | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| George Washington: | George Washington: | 441–154 (.741) | 250–52 (.828) | | |
| Northwestern Wildcats (Big Ten Conference) (2008–present) ||||||
| 2008–09 | Northwestern | 7–23 | 3–15 | 10th | |
| 2009–10 | Northwestern | 18–15 | 7–11 | T–8th | WNIT Third round |
| 2010–11 | Northwestern | 18–14 | 6–10 | 8th | WNIT Second round |
| 2011–12 | Northwestern | 14–16 | 4–12 | 11th | |
| 2012–13 | Northwestern | 13–17 | 5–11 | 10th | |
| 2013–14 | Northwestern | 17–16 | 5–11 | T–8th | WNIT Third round |
| 2014–15 | Northwestern | 23–9 | 12–6 | T–4th | NCAA first round |
| 2015–16 | Northwestern | 18–17 | 4–14 | 12th | WNIT First round |
| 2016–17 | Northwestern | 20–11 | 8–8 | T–8th | |
| 2017–18 | Northwestern | 12–20 | 4–12 | 12th | |
| 2018–19 | Northwestern | 21–15 | 9–9 | 6th | WNIT Runner-up |
| 2019–20 | Northwestern | 26–4 | 16–2 | T–1st | Postseason cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 2020–21 | Northwestern | 16–9 | 11–7 | 5th | NCAA second round |
| 2021–22 | Northwestern | 17–12 | 8–8 | 7th | |
| 2022–23 | Northwestern | 9–21 | 2–16 | 14th | |
| 2023–24 | Northwestern | 9–21 | 4–14 | 13th | |
| 2024–25 | Northwestern | 9–18 | 2–16 | 17th | |
| Northwestern: | Northwestern: | 270–264 (.506) | 110–182 (.377) | | |
| Total: | Total: | 779–438 (.640) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||