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Temple Owls
School Name: Temple University
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Arena: Liacouras Center
Capacity: 10,206
Conference: The American
Head coach: Fran Dunphy


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.

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, 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, and Rick Brunson 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 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. Joseph's, 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.

NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances[]

Year Result
1944 East Regional

Semifinal: Ohio State L 47-57 Regional Third Place: Catholic W 55-35

1956 East Regional

Semifinal: Holy Cross W 74-72 Regional Final: Connecticut W 65-59 National Semifinal: Iowa L 83-76 National third place game: SMU W 90-81

1958 East Regional

Semifinal: Maryland W 71-67 Regional Final: Dartmouth W 69-50 National Semifinal: Kentucky L 60-61 National third place game: Kansas State W 67-57

1964 East Regional

First Round: Connecticut L 48-53

1967 East Regional

First Round: St. John's L 53-57

1970 East Regional

First Round: Villanova L 69-77

1972 East Regional

First Round: South Carolina L 51-53

1979 Seventh Seed East Regional

First Round: St. John's L 70-75

1984 Eighth Seed East Regional

First Round: St. John's W 65-63 Second Round: North Carolina L 66-77

1985 Eighth Seed East Regional

First Round: Virginia Tech W 60-57 Second Round: Georgetown L 46-63

1986 Ninth Seed East Regional

First Round: Jacksonville W 61-50 (OT) Second Round: Kansas, L 43-65

1987 Second Seed East Regional

First Round: Southern W 75-56 Second Round: LSU L 62-72

1988 First Seed East Regional

First Round: Lehigh W 87-73 Second Round: Georgetown W 74-53 Regional Semifinal: Richmond W 69-47 Regional Final: Duke L 53-63

1990 Eleventh Seed East Regional

First Round: St. John's L 65-81

1991 Tenth Seed

East Regional First Round: Purdue W 80-63 Second Round: Richmond W 77-64 Regional Semifinal: Oklahoma State W 72-63 (OT) Regional Final: North Carolina L 72-75

1992 Eleventh Seed Southeast Regional

First Round: Michigan L 66-73

1993 Seventh Seed West Regional

First Round: Missouri W 75-61 Second Round: Santa Clara W 68-57 Regional Semifinal: Vanderbilt W 67-59 Regional Final: Michigan L 72-77

1994 Fourth Seed East Regional

First Round: Drexel W 61-39 Second Round: Indiana L 58-67

1995 Tenth Seed

West Regional First Round: Cincinnati L 70-77

1996 Seventh Seed Southeast Regional

First Round: Oklahoma W 61-43 Second Round: Cincinnati L 65-78

1997 Ninth Seed

Midwest Regional First Round: Mississippi W 62-40 Second Round: Minnesota L 57-76

1998 Seventh Seed West Regional

First Round: West Virginia L 52-82

1999 Sixth Seed

East Regional First Round: Kent W 61-54 Second Round: Cincinnati W 64-54 Regional Semifinal: Purdue W 77-55 Regional Final: Duke L 64-85

2000 Second Seed East Regional

First Round: Lafayette W 73-47 Second Round: Seton Hall L 65-67 (OT)

2001 Eleventh Seed South Regional

First Round: Texas W 79-65 Second Round: Florida W 75-54 Regional Semifinal: Penn State W 84-72 Regional Final: Michigan State L 62-69

2008 Twelfth Seed South Regional

First Round: Michigan State L 61-72

2009 Eleventh Seed South Regional

First Round: Arizona State L 57-66

2010 Fifth Seed East Regional

First Round: Cornell L 65-78

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