Born in Larned, Kansas, Gene Keady is the grandson of an Irish emigrant who he believes came from Co. Dublin — he points out that Keady Mountain is just outside Dublin.

Keady earned his BS in Biological Sciences and Physical Education and his MS in Education at Kansas State. Prior to coaching for Purdue he was assistant coach for Arkansas and head coach for Western Kentucky. He has been head coach at Purdue since 1981. And what an amazing 15 years they have been! Keady has led Purdue to six Big Ten Championships, including three straight titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996. During Keady’s tenure at Purdue, the Boilermakers averaged 21.8 wins per season, making Keady the third highest-ranking coach in Big Ten history in League games.

Keady has been named National Coach-of-the-Year five times. In 1996 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 has been recognized as the nation’s top coach for three consecutive years.

Coach Keady is very proud of his Irish heritage. When asked how his Irish background has influenced him, he says he has quite a temper. He says it gets him into trouble often — he gets a lot of technicals.