#KEEPTHEFAITH
Mexico’s Paul Weir and Mark Slessinger of New Orleans – have served on his Demon coaching staff. “Coach Mike” is nationally respected by those who coach, and cover, the game. For the 15th year, he will be part of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 voting panel. He does his own ballot each week. He’s been late once in 12 years – and that was on a weekend the team was returning from Hawaii. He has also served a threeyear term on the NCAA’s coaches’ regional advisory committee assisting with the NCAA Tournament selection process. He received the 2012 NABC Guardians of the Game Pillar Award for Education Mike McConathy has steered the Northwestern State basketball to its greatest during NCAA Final Four weekend in New Orleans. It is among the most prestigious heights in his two decades as the veteran coach begins his 22nd season on the Demons awards presented by the NABC, representing one of the four core values of the Guardsideline. ians of the Game program – education, leadership, advocacy and service. McConathy’s 662 victories in 37 seasons (which includes 16 seasons at Bossier National television and radio analysts and announcers such as Fox Sports’ Tim Parish Community College) is tops among Louisiana college coaches in state history. Brando and Doug Gottlieb, Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery of CBS Sports, Fran That group includes LSU’s Dale Brown, Louisiana Tech’s Leon Barmore, Grambling’s Fred Fraschilla and Jerry Punch of ESPN, and Charles Barkley of TBS have expressed their Hobdy and ULM’s Mike Vining. admiration of McConathy, as much for his core values as for his coaching acumen. He’s led the Demons to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including one Demon basketball has evolved in his tenure from being nearly an afterthought of the most memorable March Madness upsets in tournament history with a 2006 in the historic city of Natchitoches to providing the sports heartbeat of northwest win against No. 3 seed Iowa in which NSU erased a 17-point Hawkeye lead with 8 ½ Louisiana in February and March. minutes remaining. The Demons also made NCAA Tournament trips in 2001 and 2013. NSU is 2-3 in NCAA play, including a 2001 win against Winthrop (coached by Gregg Marshall) in the inaugural Opening Round game in Dayton, Ohio. He crossed the 300-win mark on the NSU sidelines in his 21st season, leading a team with six of its top seven scorers being newcomers to a fourth-place finish in the Southland Conference and a first-round tournament win before the postseason was canceled because of the COVID-19 virus. McConathy, a former Southland Player of the Year himself at then-SLC member Louisiana Tech, has excelled in the conference tournament. He’s advanced to seven SLC Tournament championship games, winning three (2001, 2006 and 2013). Only the Demons (2005-08) and Louisiana-Monroe (1990-93) have made four straight championship game appearances in the five decades of Southland basketball competition. NSU is 19-9 in Southland Tournament play in 13 trips under McConathy. His teams have scored road wins over Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Auburn and Oregon State. McConathy’s core philosophies include the belief “the MVP of our team IS our team.” His use of a deep rotation, often with wave substitutions of five-for-five, is a tried-and-true method that has NSU playing its best basketball down the stretch. Since the start of his 16 seasons as coach at Bossier Parish Community College in his hometown, McConathy has constantly promoted educational values for, and with, his players. Almost 90 percent of the seniors in his NSU program have graduated. More than half the team has been on the NSU honor roll in the past five years. The Demons received “public recognition” from the NCAA in 2014 and in 2006 for ranking among the nation’s top 10 percent Academic Progress Rate scores in the NCAA’s annual report. They had a perfect score in 2011 and have consistently ranked among state, Southland Conference and even national leaders in that and the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate under McConathy’s guidance. In what has become a recurring event, in July, the National Association of Basketball Coaches has issued its Team Academic Excellence Award to NSU for posting a team GPA over 3.0. His program is #Southland Strong: The Demons are 206-187 (.524) against Southland foes under McConathy. The Demons benefit from a big homecourt advantage at venerable Prather Coliseum, which has more on-the-floor seating than any other Southland venue. The Demons usually average over 2,000 fans per game in league play, which has helped NSU win 66 percent of its home games (186-95) under McConathy. Known for years as “Coach Mike” to his players, McConathy is among a select group of major college mentors. Eight Division I basketball coaches have been at their current school for 20 years. His peers in this distinction include Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), and Jim Boeheim (Syracuse). Mike McConathy enters his 38th season coaching in Louisiana colleges, 22nd at NSU. Three current Division I head coaches – Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams, New
Mike McConathy Head Coach 22nd season at NSU Louisiana Tech, 1977
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He holds the state's collegiate record with 662 wins.
2020-21 Northwestern State Men’s Basketball Media Guide Southland Conference Champions: 2004-05 • 2005-06 Southland Conference Tournament Champions: 2001 • 2006 • 2013
