Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

NEWSLETTER
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter!

Timeline: Joe McKeown

Sunday, June 8, 2:20 p.m.

Related: McKeown leaves GW basketball after 19 years

1979 – After finishing his playing career as an all-conference point guard at Kent State, McKeown takes his first coaching position as an assistant at the school, helping the Golden Flashes go 21-8 in his first season on staff.

1983 – McKeown moves on to the University of Oklahoma, where he serves as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. The Sooners would make a trip to the Sweet 16 and earn a national top-10 ranking during McKeown’s time on staff.

1986 – New Mexico State tabs McKeown for his first head coaching job. His tenure with the Roadrunners would include two NCAA tournament appearances, a new school record for wins and a High Country Conference Coach of the Year award.

September 1989 – McKeown arrives at GW, a program that struggled en route to a 9-19 record in the previous season. The Colonials go 14-14 in his first year at the helm in what would be his only season without a winning record and one of only two without 20 wins.

1990-1991 – His second season in Foggy Bottom sets the bar for the rest of his stay. The Colonials go 23-7 and upset No. 9 Rutgers on their way to an NCAA tournament berth and McKeown’s first A-10 Coach of the Year award.

January 5, 1992 – The Colonials’ steady climb through the AP national rankings peaks with a spot at sixth. They would spend three weeks in that spot, which remains a GW women’s athletics record.

March 1992 – GW beats St. Bonaventure, Duquesne, and Rutgers on its way to the first Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship in program history.

March 19, 1995 – McKeown and the Colonials reach their first Sweet 16 with a dramatic 96-93 overtime victory over Drake in the NCAA tournament’s second round. GW would fall to top-seeded Colorado in the next round.

March 22, 1997 – A record-setting 28-win season culminates in GW toppling top-seeded North Carolina to secure the first and only Elite Eight appearance of McKeown’s tenure. The successful season comes to an end one round later at the hands of Notre Dame.

March 1999 – GW’s streak of five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances ends as the Colonials are not invited to dance following their 19-9 season. The team would decline a bid to the WNIT, making it McKeown’s only season at GW without a postseason appearance since his first year in Foggy Bottom.

March 17, 2000 – The Colonials return to the NCAA tournament with a win over UCLA. This would begin a streak of nine consecutive postseason appearances – including eight NCAA tournament berths – throughout the remainder of McKeown’s GW career.

January 31, 2004 – Career win number 400 comes in a home victory over La Salle.

March 19, 2007 – GW knocks off Texas A&M for a trip to the Sweet 16, their third under McKeown. The Colonials lose to North Carolina in the next round, ending a 28-4 season that marked their highest winning percentage during McKeown’s tenure.

February 2, 2008 – McKeown notches his 500th career victory with a win over Duquesne in Pittsburgh. He is the 34th coach in Division I women’s basketball history to reach the milestone.

March 30, 2008 – After comeback victories over Auburn and California propel them to a second consecutive Sweet 16, a loss to Rutgers ends GW’s season. This would ultimately be McKeown’s final game as GW head coach.

June 8, 2008 – McKeown accepts the women’s head coaching job at Northwestern University, ending a 19-year tenure at GW.

More to Discover
Donate to The GW Hatchet