By LEAH JACKSON
Of all the accolades, triumphs and accomplishments in a 39-year college coaching career, former Northwestern State basketball coach Mike McConathy said Saturday he is most proud to have given young people the opportunity to get an education in and out of classrooms while playing a game they love.
“Sometimes you don’t see the real picture in sports because you look at the record, which says you didn’t have a good year, but if every kid graduated and every kid went on to be successful…the fact that we gave them an opportunity to advance and tried to influence those young people had redeeming value,” McConathy said on a day he was spotlighted in a halftime ceremony dedicating the court at Prather Coliseum.
Mike McConathy Court honors the state’s leader in college basketball coaching victories. The recognition took place at the Southland Conference basketball game against Stephen F. Austin. Family members, over 100 former players and staff from Northwestern and Bossier Parish Community College, several McConathy teammates from his stellar playing career at Louisiana Tech and NSU band and spirit group members and filled the south end of the court to join the celebration.
It drew the biggest crowd of the decade, and then some, to a home game for NSU.
The ceremony highlighted the launch of the Mike McConathy Scholarship Fund to support Northwestern student-athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility before completing their degrees. Friends who wish to contribute can do so at www.nsu.la/mcconathy.
McConathy compiled 330 of his state-record 682 victories while coaching 23 seasons at Northwestern, the alma mater of his father, two uncles, both of his sons and two of his nephews. He led Northwestern to its first three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the first two NCAA Tournament victories in school history. McConathy’s teams won the first two Southland titles in program history, reaching seven SLC Tournament title games and winning three of them. His players also excelled academically, with a graduation rate of about 90 percent. His coaching career ended in 2022 with a near 60-percent winning rate in Southland Conference games.
Last October, new NSU President James Genovese recalled McConathy to NSU to serve as a special advisor for networking, recruiting and external support. Genovese made impassioned remarks about McConathy to open the halftime ceremony. The coach gave Genovese a pair of McConathy’s trademark purple-and-white checkered slacks at the beginning of his acceptance speech.
“The wins and losses are very important, the NCAA tournaments were great and winning against (third-seeded) Iowa (in 2006 March Madness) was special. Naturally they have to be the pinnacle, but when you take it a little bit deeper, you see the way that championship basketball at Northwestern impacted those young men’s lives,” McConathy said.
Away from the bench, McConathy’s career, which included the starting and building of Bossier Parish Community College’s program into a national tournament participant, landed him the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches Association’s Mr. Basketball Award in 2023. He is a member of the N-Club Hall of Fame and Northwestern’s Hall of Distinguished Educators, and the Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame and the Ark-La-Tex Museum of Champions. His Airline High School jersey is retired.
The McConathy family’s long history with Northwestern is also significant.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to extend the legacy of my family’s name at Northwestern. My father and his brothers came from Bienville Parish and got degrees and master’s degrees. Being able to continue that legacy is something special,” said McConathy, who noted he earned a master’s plus 30 hours in education from Northwestern.
McConathy’s Christian faith and servant-leader philosophy are as closely identified with him as his success as a coach.
“My parents taught me a lot, but the most important thing that they gave me was they exposed me to my faith in which Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of everything that I’ve always tried to do,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that I haven’t failed many times, but I’ve always had to look to Him for guidance and direction in coaching, living, visiting with people and trying to emulate the things that He did for us.”
McConathy had many to thank, starting with his wife of 47 years, Connie, their sons Michael and Logan and their families, his parents and siblings, teammates, fellow coaches, former players and all who supported the Demons’Six basketball program, including season ticket holders, the Sixth Man Club, the pep band and spirit groups.
“God has been good to us. We’ve been able to exercise our faith. We’ve been able to encourage our young people to get degrees. We’ve encouraged them to have high character.”
McConathy maintains close ties with those he’s coached and worked with, attending weddings and appearing at ballgames to watch former students coach or to see their children play ball. More than 100 pursued careers centered around athletics while others chose education, healthcare, law, medicine, business and other professions.
“When recruiting them, I told them that this is this was not about one to two or three or four years,” McConathy said. “This was about a lifetime. That is part of the legacy that I would want for them, that when you come to Northwestern, this is your home and the community will care about you for the rest of your life, not just while you’re playing.”
