How Northwestern's Joe McKeown sees the future of women's college basketball evolving

ROSEMONT, Ill. - If you name any historical event in women's basketball history, Northwestern's Joe McKeown has most likely seen it.

Most recently, he witnessed the Caitlin Clark supernova take over college basketball. That ushered in record numbers of viewership and more.

It's the kind of movement that pales in comparison to what McKeown has seen and endured in the past. He remembers the 10-hour minivan rides to games as opposed to the different types of travel available now.

It's why McKeown, who has been coaching for over 40 years, sees the evolution of women's basketball continuing in a Big Ten that's become a superconference.

Most significantly, he appreciates how the biggest games carry the biggest weight. It reminds him of the classic Georgetown basketball of old, where you weren't allowed in the gym until you were let in.

"We used to play Georgetown and legendary John Thompson," McKeown said. "He would lock the door so we couldn't get in until he was done at practice, and you had to bang on the window. You'd be out in the middle of the snow. Referees would be banging on the windows. We all had to wait outside. Now, when you walk in, you feel like there's a game."

Now, considering where he's come from and the excitement around women's basketball, he wants that momentum to continue. 

McKeown felt this when Iowa came to town last January and Welsh-Ryan Arena sold out for the first time for a women's basketball game. The conference is well aware of this, especially entering a new era in the Big Ten.

"You are seeing an increase in broadcast exposure in the Big Ten on the women's side," Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petiti said. "That will lead to continued growth, we believe."

The belief is there because thriving star power exists in a recently constructed superconference, spanning from the East Coast to the West Coast.

Welcome, USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon. It calls for more investment in women's basketball, which is something McKeown has seen more recently.

"I don't want to say we caught lightning in a bottle, but I've been in this a long time when the only ones in the crowd were parents or the referee's spouse yelling at me," McKeown said. "You loved it because you loved the sport. So now to see even the WNBA for years – now they're chartering – it's amazing. It took that long, but this is where we're at. People are holding our sport accountable."

The biggest part of accountability comes with recognizing what the sport needs. McKeown pointed to two things: the expansive coverage needs to continue, even as the biggest stars depart, and the biggest stars in the league need proper marketing.

The league marketed the likes of Caitlin Clark. Now, it has to market USC's Kiki Iriafen and Juju Watkins, Iowa's Hannah Stuelke and Lucy Olsen, Maryland's Shyanne Sellers, Nebraska's Alexis Markowski, Ohio State's Cotie McMahon and UCLA's Lauren Betts, to name a few.

All of those players earned Big Ten preseason all-conference honors.

"Basketball is a star sport, and you got to market your stars," McKeown said. "One reason the NBA exploded was because of its star power. We need that."

That star power is easily evident across the Big Ten, especially this season. The means to thrive in a post-Clark Big Ten exist, especially in the NIL and transfer portal era.

McKeown knows this because he's won his fair share of games. He has a 261–246 at Northwestern, and a 768–414 record overall. This past season, he passed Don Perrelli as Northwestern's winningest head coach of all time.

If McKeown says there's no better time than the present to push the future of women's basketball, he might be on to something. After all, he's seen more than plenty of other coaches currently in the game.

"We got to take advantage of this window," McKeown said. "Because you don't know how long it's going to last."