Northwestern names McKeown women's coach

Jun 9, 2008 - 10:54 PM EVANSTON, Illinois (Ticker) -- Joe McKeown, who has won more than 500 games in his career, was named the head women's basketball coach at Northwestern on Monday.

McKeown spent the previous 19 seasons as the women's coach at George Washington, where he posted a 441-154 record to become the winningest coach in school history. He guided the Colonials to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 1997 and three other appearances in the regional semifinals.

The 34th coach in Division I women's basketball history to surpass 500 wins, McKeown has a career mark of 509-174. His winning percentage of .745 ranks 13th on the all-time list.

McKeown replaces Beth Combs, who resigned on May 7 after four seasons at Northwestern. He faces a major rebuilding project as the Wildcats posted a four-year record of 24-95 under Combs, including a 7-59 mark in the Big Ten Conference. Last season, Northwestern was 5-26 overall and 1-17 in the Big Ten.

"It is a wonderful opportunity for me to come to Evanston and build a program in a great conference," McKeown said.