The Best Thing That Happened This Week: Fran Dunphy, Two-Time-200 Winner

Jan 5, 2016; Hartford, CT, USA; Temple Owls head coach Fran Dunphy watches from the sideline as they take On the Connecticut Huskies in the first half at XL Center.

While everybody was talking about Chip Kelly, another local coach—one whom people like—notched a significant milestone. With Temple men’s hoops’ thrilling last-second triumph over nationally ranked UConn on Tuesday, Owls coach Fran Dunphy became one of just five Division 1 coaches ever to accumulate 200 wins at each of two different schools. From 1989 through 2006, Dunphy coached the Quakers at Penn, where he chalked up a 310-160 record and 10 Ivy League Titles. Those 310 wins were the most ever by a Penn men’s hoops coach, and second all-time in the Ivies only to Princeton legend Pete Carril, whose reign lasted nearly 30 years.

Speaking of legends, when Dunphy crossed the Schuylkill to sign on with the Owls, the shadow of his predecessor, John Chaney, seemed impossibly lengthy. There’s been a rough season or two. And sure, even though UConn was Temple’s second win over a nationally ranked opponent in just three games, there’s a whole lot of AAC basketball still ahead. But that second 200 was sweet, and that Dunphy reached it while maintaining his reputation as a fierce but gentlemanly competitor made it sweeter still.

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