EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Northwestern hired former UConn star Carla Berube as its women’s basketball coach on Wednesday.
Berube replaces the retired Joe McKeown and will be tasked with turning around a program that hasn’t won more than nine games in a season since 2021-22.
Berube, who helped UConn win its first NCAA championship in 1995 under Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma, led Princeton to a 147-29 record and five NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons. The Tigers went 26-4 overall and 12-2 in Ivy League play this season, winning the conference’s regular-season and tournament championships before losing to Oklahoma State in the first round of March Madness.
Berube coached All-Americans Abby Meyers and Kaitlyn Chen, both of whom transferred to bigger programs before being selected in the WNBA draft. Bella Alarie also made it to the WNBA after playing four seasons at Princeton.
“This is a place where academic and athletic excellence go hand in hand, and I’m excited to build a championship culture that reflects that standard,” Berube said in a statement. “Competing in the Big Ten Conference requires toughness, discipline, and a relentless commitment to growth. We are going to embrace that challenge and build a team that competes with pride and goes to battle for one another every night.”
Northwestern reached the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and again in 2021, when it advanced for the first time in 28 years. But the Wildcats have struggled since.
McKeown had a 785-453 record with 17 NCAA Tournament appearances in 40 years at Northwestern, George Washington and New Mexico State. He was the Wildcats’ winningest coach, leading them to a 276-279 record in 18 seasons.
Berube is the first major hire for athletic director Mark Jackson, who took the job in 2024. She led Division III Tufts to a 384-96 record over 17 seasons and is the program’s leader in wins.
Berube scored 1,381 points for UConn from 1993 to 1997. The Huskies went 132-8, with the 1994-95 team going 35-0 to capture the program’s first of its 12 national titles.
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