Northwestern University Athletics
Bill Carmody Named Men's Basketball Coach at Northwestern
9/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 6, 2000
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* A.D. Rick?Taylor
* Bill?Carmody
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Bill Carmody has been named the head men's basketball coach at Northwestern University, athletic director Rick Taylor announced today.
"We are obviously very pleased to announce Bill Carmody as our head coach," said Taylor. "He is a highly respected coach and is well versed in the game of college basketball. Few teams take the court as prepared as his do. Bill has an impressive coaching resume which includes wins over 33 scholarship teams, including Texas, Georgetown, N.C. State as well as UNLV in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. We look forward to having Coach Carmody and his family become a part of the Northwestern athletic family."
"I have known Coach Carmody over many years," said Henry Bienen, President of Northwestern University. "Northwestern is getting a very fine person and a terrific coach. I am very pleased."
Carmody comes to Evanston after spending 18 years at Princeton University, four as a head coach. While at the helm, Carmody guided the Tigers to an overall record of 92-25 (.786), an Ivy League mark of 50-6 (.893) and took PU to the postseason each year. During his first season as head coach (1996-97), he led the Tigers to a 24-4 record, the third-best first year mark for a Division I head coach in 30 years. Carmody followed that up with an even better sophomore campaign when he directed Princeton to a 27-2 record, a Top 10 national ranking and the second round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
"I am very grateful for the opportunity that Northwestern University has given me," said Carmody. "To be able to coach at a school with such a tremendous academic standing and in the top conference in Division I basketball was something that I could not turn down.
"I want my guys at Northwestern to understand how great of an opportunity it is to play college basketball and that if they work hard at it every day how much can be accomplished when they approach the game in the right way."
A native of Spring Lake, N.J., Carmody joined the Princeton staff as an assistant coach in 1982. While an assistant under Pete Carril, the Tigers made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament which included PU's memorable win over defending national champion UCLA in 1996.
Carmody graduated from Union College (Schenectady, N.Y.) in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in history. A basketball standout, he led Union to a 59-11 record in three seasons as a starter. During his senior year, he captained his team and was named first-team All-ECAC as well as the school's Most Outstanding Athlete.
-more- Upon graduation from college, Carmody served as the head coach of Fulton-Montgomery Community College in N.Y. and led the team to a 17-10 record and conference title in his only season there. He returned to Union the following year as an assistant coach.
The 48-year-old and his wife, Barbara, have two sons, nine-year-old Michael and seven-year-old Edward.
CARMODY AT A GLANCE
Born: December 4, 1951
High School: St. Rose High School (Belmar, N.J.)
College: Union College (Schenectady, N.Y.)
Degree: Bachelor's in History, 1975
Playing Experience: Point Guard, Union College, 1973-75
Family: Wife, Barbara, Sons, Michael (9) and Edward (7)
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Fulton-Montgomery (N.Y.) CC, 1975-76 (Head Coach)
Union College, 1976-82 (Assistant Coach)
Princeton University, 1982-95 (Assistant Coach)
Princeton University, 1995-96 (Assoc. Head Coach)
Princeton University, 1996-2000 (Head Coach)
CARMODY YEAR-BY-YEAR
1996-97 -- 24-2 (.857) Overall, 14-0 (1.000) Ivy League, NCAA 1st round
1997-98 -- 27-2 (.931) Overall, 14-0 (1.000) Ivy League, NCAA 2nd round
1998-99 -- 22-8 (.733) Overall, 11-3 (.786) Ivy League, NIT quarterfinal round
1999-2000 -- 19-11 (.633) Overall, 11-3 (.786) Ivy League, NIT 2nd round
TOTALS -- 92-25 (.786) Overall, 50-6 (.893) Ivy League
NOTES AS HEAD COACH OF PRINCETON (Four Seasons)
* Took Tigers to postseason each year, Established 26 team records, Garnered 20-plus win seasons three times
* Led Tigers to winning streaks of 20 and 19 games, two longest in PU history
* Guided Princeton to a Top 10 national ranking and the Ivy League's best winning percentage in history (27-2, .931)
* Called best offensive coach in college basketball by Sports Illustrated and voted by Division I peers as one of five they would like to see give a clinic
* Amassed a 33-17 mark against schools that gave athletic scholarships
* Named USBWA District II Coach of the Year in 1997 and 1998
* Finished runner-up in the voting for the Associated Press National Coach of the Year Award in 1998
* Became the only Division I coach since World War II to begin his head coaching career with back-to-back perfect conference seasons
