www.canisiushigh.org
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The Canisius community celebrated the legacy
of former dean of students and head basketball
coach Tom Keenan as the 2011 recipient of the
John F. Barnes Award. The award recognizes the
achievements of a member of the Canisius High
School community who has distinguished himself
in the field of athletics. The Canisius High School
Class of 1932 instituted the award to memorial-
ize the 42-year coaching career of the legendary
Crusader coach.
Keenan was a native son of Brooklyn, where he
honed his basketball skills at an early age. He
attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn, gradu-
ating with a bachelor’s degree in physical educa-
tion. His coaching career started in 1984 as the
head basketball coach of the College of Staten
Island. Under his leadership, the Dolphins won
two CUNY Tournament Championships, an ECAC
Championship and reached the Division III NCAA
Tournament. He was honored in 1985 and 1986
with the CUNY Conference Coach of the Year
Award. He also had stints as assistant coach of
the Division I St. Francis Terriers and an assistant
coach at Niagara University.
Keenan made the transition from college to high
school hardwood in 1993 when he was named
head varsity basketball coach at Canisius. In 1994,
he joined Canisius full time as dean of students.
Keenan inherited a program that had struggled
in recent years to produce consistent winners. In
three seasons, Keenan and the
Crusaders shook up the Monsignor
Martin power structure. In 1996,
his Crusaders knocked off heavily
favored St. Joe’s in the Manhattan
Cup Final. Canisius retired the Cup
by repeating as champions in 1997 and 1998, the
first time in Canisius history that the basketball
team won three consecutive titles.
Keenan coached the Crusaders for 10 seasons,
winning 153 games, including two regular season
Monsignor Martin titles. He also coached the pro-
gram to four NYSCHSAA Title Games and two
Catholic State Championships (1996 and 2000).
In 2003, the Canisius and Western New York
communities were deeply saddened by
Tom’s passing after a long battle with cancer. In
memory of his contributions to Canisius, the bas-
ketball program hosts the Annual Tom Keenan
Memorial Tournament during the Christmas holi-
day. Teams from all over the country come to
Canisius to compete.
✠
Pictured from left: John F. Barnes, Jr.,
‘76 with Brian ‘99 and Tom ‘96 Keenan
accepting the Barnes Award on behalf of
their late father, Tom Keenan.
Te Late TomKeenan Honored with Barnes Award
Keenan coached the
Crusaders for 10 seasons,
winning 153 games.