Karen (Robinson) Keyes, M.S.A ’87

Karen Robinson Keyes excelled as both a student and an athlete at Paul VI. She was a standout basketball player for the Eagles, scoring 1,000 points in her 4 years of high school. She was named an All-American in high school, and she played on the east team at the U.S. Olympic Festival of Teams in 1987 and 1989.

 

Karen said, “When I was in fifth grade, a counselor at Cathy Rush’s basketball camp told me that if I kept improving and developed a left hand I could get a scholarship to college. I will never forget that . . . getting that scholarship to Notre Dame shaped the course of my life!”

Karen was a full scholarship athlete, team captain, 1,000 point scorer, District All-American, Conference Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991, and Team MVP and Athlete of the Year in 1991 for the Fighting Irish women’s basketball team. As a senior, Karen led the Irish to their first top 20 ranking. She graduated as the all-time leading scorer in program history. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in American studies, with minors in government and communications, in 1991, and she earned a master’s of science in administration in 1995 at the University of Notre Dame.

 

Karen played basketball professionally in Switzerland in 1992. She was the assistant coach under Muffet McGraw at Notre Dame in 1995. She coached at the Division 1 level at Manhattan College and Fordham University and also was a broadcast reporter for the NFL’s New York Jets. She currently coaches the Ridgewood High School girls’ basketball team and was named 2016 Coach of the Year. She also serves on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and the Women’s Initiative Steering Committee at Notre Dame, is a board member of the Reed Academy School for Autism in Oakland, New Jersey and is a Valley Hospital “Women for Health” member in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

 

Karen and her husband, Kevin Keyes, were married on the Notre Dame campus at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in 1995. Kevin was a varsity tennis player for the Irish and is now president and CEO of Annaly Capital Management in New York City. As a couple, they are Joyce Grant and Aid Members (a gift to fund a student-athlete’s tuition, room and board for one year, or for their entire career at Notre Dame), and they established the John and Maureen Keyes Scholarship Fund, named in honor of Kevin’s parents, at the University of Notre Dame. They established the Paul Noack Scholarship Fund at Marquette University High School, in honor of Kevin’s high school basketball coach, and they endowed the head coaching position at the University of Notre Dame in support of Muffet McGraw. Karen and Kevin are the parents of three children: 15-year-old twin daughters, Katie and Cassie, and a 10-year-old son, Johnny. They live in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

 

Karen has fond memories of her days at Paul VI. Two inspirational teammates and mentors were Missy Lynch ’84 and the late Martina Attanasi ’84. She recalls administrative and faculty leaders who had a positive influence on her life, including Sister Marianne McCann, Reverend Monsignor Russell Rock, Mr. John Yeager, Mr. Robert Goldschmidt, Father Joseph Ferrara, Mr. Joseph Burke, Ms. Carbaccio, and the late Mrs. Carol Stutzer Harris and Mr. Patrick Rowan. She is grateful to the many people who were encouraging influences at Paul VI.