Gene Keady put Purdue Boilermakers basketball on the map as their head coach from 1980-2005. He’s considered one of the greatest head coaches in college basketball not to win a championship.
With Purdue making its first appearnace in the NCAA Men’s Tournament National Championshup Game since 1969 Monday night against UConn, the hope in Indiana is that the Boilermakers could end their championship drought.
Keady, 87, was on hand in Arizona to catch his former program attempt to pull off an upset against the defending champion Huskies.
That’s some pretty awesome stuff. As you can see, Keady was also very much in the spirit with a Purdue hat and sticker. He took it to a new level with a big “P” on the back of his head.
Related: 10 fun facts about last time Purdue made it to national championship game
Gene Keady career record with Purdue Boilermakers: 512-270, .655 winning percentage
Keady led Purdue to six Big Ten regular-season titles, was a seven-time conference coach of the year. He also earned the National College Basketball Coach of the Year award six times.
His tenure with the Boilermakers consisted of 17 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including two trips to the Elite 8.
Certainly, Keady is hoping for the best against UConn. But it’s been an uphill climb thus far in the national title game.