McKeown previously served as head coach at New Mexico State and George Washington University[2] until joining Northwestern in 2008.

He is the father of former Northwestern women's basketball player and current commentator Meghan McKeown.

[3] McKeown attended Mercer County Community College and then was a star basketball player at Kent State, and was named co-captain during his senior season.

[7][8][5] McKeown was selected to be the head coach of the USA representative to the World University Games held in Seoul, South Korea July 5–13, 2015.

In the fourth quarter the USA exploded for 34 points to pull out to a large lead, and won the gold-medal with a score of 82–63.