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| 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 |