In 2000, he succeeded Kevin O'Neill as the head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats Men's Basketball Team.
 One of his top assistants from 2000 to 2006 was Craig Robinson, the brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama.
 From 2008–2014, Robinson was the head coach at Oregon State University.

In 2003–04, Carmody led the Wildcats to an 8–8 record in Big Ten play, their first non-losing record in conference play since 1967–68.

On January 18, Northwestern defeated the then-number-seventeen Minnesota Golden Gophers.
On January 21, 2009, Carmody's Kevin Coble-led Wildcats defeated number-seven Michigan State University at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan earning their second consecutive win over an opponent ranked in the AP top 25, marking the  first time in school history for such a feat.
 The 2008–09 unit became the first in school history to win 20 games and briefly flirted with the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.

On December 28, 2009, Northwestern was ranked number 25 in the Associated Press Basketball Poll, marking the first time Northwestern had been ranked in the AP Poll since 1969.
 The 2009–10 team also notched the school's second-ever 20-win season.

Despite Carmody's efforts to upgrade the Wildcat program, his teams never finished higher than fifth in the Big Ten, and his 2003–04 team was the only one that finished with even a .500 record in conference play.
 After the Wildcats suffered their first losing season in six years, Carmody was fired on March 16, 2013.
 He left as the second-winningest coach in school history, behind only Dutch Lonborg.
In 2000, he succeeded Kevin O'Neill as the head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats Men's Basketball Team.  One of his top assistants from 2000 to 2006 was Craig Robinson, the brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama.  From 2008–2014, Robinson was the head coach at Oregon State University.
In 2003–04, Carmody led the Wildcats to an 8–8 record in Big Ten play, their first non-losing record in conference play since 1967–68.
On January 18, Northwestern defeated the then-number-seventeen Minnesota Golden Gophers. On January 21, 2009, Carmody's Kevin Coble-led Wildcats defeated number-seven Michigan State University at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan earning their second consecutive win over an opponent ranked in the AP top 25, marking the  first time in school history for such a feat.  The 2008–09 unit became the first in school history to win 20 games and briefly flirted with the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
On December 28, 2009, Northwestern was ranked number 25 in the Associated Press Basketball Poll, marking the first time Northwestern had been ranked in the AP Poll since 1969.  The 2009–10 team also notched the school's second-ever 20-win season.
Despite Carmody's efforts to upgrade the Wildcat program, his teams never finished higher than fifth in the Big Ten, and his 2003–04 team was the only one that finished with even a .500 record in conference play.  After the Wildcats suffered their first losing season in six years, Carmody was fired on March 16, 2013.  He left as the second-winningest coach in school history, behind only Dutch Lonborg.
Bill Carmody