Temple Owls
From College Basketball Wiki
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| School Name: | Temple University |
| Location: | Philadelphia, PA |
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Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a long-running and prestigious athletic program. The school's sports teams are called the Owls, originating from the university's early days as a night school. The current athletic director is Bill Bradshaw
[edit] Basketball
On the hardwood, Temple is recognized as having won the first-ever National Collegiate championship in 1938, under Coach James Usilton. That Owls team, which finished with a sparkling 23-2 record, won the inaugural National Invitation Tournament by routing Colorado 60-36 in the championship final. Because the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship was not held until the following year, Temple's NIT championship earned the Owls national title recognition. During the 1950s, the Temple basketball team made two NCAA Final Four appearances (1956, 1958) under legendary Head Coach Harry Litwack. Litwack would be inducted into the Basketball after concluding a 21-year coaching career that included 373 wins. Head Coach John Chaney (basketball coach), also a Hall of Famer, won a total of 724 career games and took Temple to the NCAA tournament 17 times. His 1987-88 Owls team entered the NCAA tournament ranked #1 in the country, and he has reached the Elite Eight on five different occasions. He was consensus national coach of the year in 1988. Current NBA players Eddie Jones (basketball) of the Miami Heat, Aaron McKie of the Los Angeles Lakers, Rick Brunson of the New York Knicks, and Mardy Collins of the New York Knicks continue to enhance Temple's proud Basketball heritage.
On March 13, 2006, Hall of Fame head coach John Chaney (basketball coach) retired. Dan Leibovitz, previously of the University of Hartford was hired to serve as acting head coach.
On April 10, 2006, University of Pennsylvania head coach and La Salle alumnus Fran Dunphy was named the new Temple's Men's Head Basketball coach. Dunphy had coached the Quakers for 17 straight seasons prior to the move. Dunphy and his Owls won the Atlantic-10 tournament in 2008 beating St. Joeseph's University, for their conference leading 12th title. The Owls were rewarded with a 12 seed in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and paired against 5th-seeded Michigan State, losing that game 72-61.
