NATCHITOCHES – For all the accolades Mike McConathy accumulated during his 23-year career as the Northwestern State men's basketball head coach, he has another to add to his resume.
 
McConathy has been named the Exchange Bank and Trust Demon Great of the Game for Saturday's 1 p.m. Southland Conference matchup with UIW.
 
A member of the Northwestern State N-Club Hall of Fame and the NSU Hall of Distinguished Educators, McConathy will be enshrined in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in June.
 
Louisiana's all-time leader in basketball coaching victories, McConathy accumulated 330 of his state-record 682 wins while on the Northwestern bench, leading the Demons to the first three NCAA Tournament berths in program history.
 
McConathy's teams won two NCAA Tournament games, including the 2006 buzzer-beating, first-round victory against third-seeded Iowa that lives on in March Madness lore. Five years earlier, McConathy's 2000-01 Demon squad defeated Winthrop in the first play-in game in modern NCAA Tournament history.
 
During his Northwestern tenure, McConathy's teams were mainstays in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game, reaching it seven times. The Demons captured a pair of Southland Conference regular-season championships under McConathy (2004-05 and 2005-06) while grabbing SLC tournament titles in 2001, 2006 and 2013.
 
The playing surface inside Prather Coliseum was christened Mike McConathy Court in a Feb. 15, 2025, ceremony, ensuring one of the lasting names in Northwestern basketball history will remain indelibly tied to the program.
 
The Exchange Bank and Trust Demon Great of the Game program is in its second decade of honoring former Northwestern State student-athletes and staff members. Exchange Bank and Trust has been a key supporter of NSU Athletics throughout its long history as the oldest financial institution in Louisiana.