Legendary Purdue Basketball Coach Gene Keady Reportedly Getting His Own Beer
Bottoms up, Boilermakers. An Indiana brewery has decided to honor legendary Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady by creatng a beer in his honor. The Journal & Courier reported the news on Friday.
Sun King Brewery — which has six Indiana locations and one location in Florida — is producing the brew, which honors one of the most iconic coaches in college basketball history. Details regarding the beer are sparse, as its still early in the development process.
Keady was the coach at Purdue from 1980-2005, posting a 512-270 record during his time in West Lafayette. He led the Boilermakers to six Big Ten regular season championships and 17 NCAA Tournament appearances. Keady was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year seven times in his career and was a six-time National Coach of the Year.
Per the Journal & Courier, Indiana Sen. Ron Alting helped bring the idea to life, saying Keady had previously expressed interest in having his own beer.
"The week after next I'm bringing him down to Sun King," Alting said. "We'll do a tasting to see what the coach and his wife like and get that ball rolling."
Keady has received many accolades in recent years, most notably earning a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.
Although he hasn't coached the Boilermakers in two decades, he continues to stay close to the program. He followed the team to its run to the National Championship Game this past season.
"To be a Hall of Fame coach and all that he accomplished and all the people that he helped, wasn't able to get to that Final Four," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "So for him to be a part of that — this is his program. Let's not mess it up.
"He did so much for Purdue, he did so much for our community and for our basketball program. So for him to be able to experience that with us and our players and our fans, that was really cool. One of the highlights of my career to be able to share that with him."
Keady is still one of the most beloved figure in Purdue sports history. This will be a really fun and unique way to celebrate his accomplishments in West Lafayette.
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