Legendary former Penn men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy will retire from his current position as head coach of La Salle at the end of the 2024-25 season, La Salle Athletics announced Thursday.
Dunphy — whose 310 wins at Penn put him first in program history and second all-time in the Ivy League — served as the Quakers’ head coach from 1989-2006 and won 10 Ivy League titles. After his coaching career concludes, Dunphy will assume the position of special assistant to the president of La Salle, a post for which he has agreed to a lifetime contract.
“I will forever be thankful to La Salle as well as all my fellow coaches and players that I’ve been fortunate to work with throughout my coaching career,” Dunphy said. “I am looking forward to finishing this season strong with our team and as I embark on the next chapter of my life.”
“We are proud to have been your first stop in what has been a long and storied career as a head coach,” Penn Athletics wrote in an Instagram post congratulating Dunphy on his coaching retirement.
Dunphy first arrived at Penn in 1988 after assistant coaching stints at several other college programs, including at his alma mater La Salle. After spending one season as an assistant, Dunphy succeeded Tom Schneider as head coach and led the Quakers to the Ancient Eight title in 1992. In 1994, Dunphy’s Red and Blue finished 14-0 in the Ivy League and defeated Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the program’s lone March Madness win in the last 40 years.
Current Penn coach Steve Donahue was a member of Dunphy’s staff from 1990 to 2000. In that time, Donahue says he gained invaluable knowledge from Dunphy.
“I’m fortunate that I could work for one man for 10 years, and the quality of the guy is Fran Dunphy,” Donahue said. “Not only learning incredible basketball, but you’re learning people skills and what it looks like to run a program.”
In 2006, Dunphy left Penn to become the head coach at Temple. Dunphy led the Owls to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including wins in 2011 and 2013. After stepping down as Temple’s coach in 2019, Dunphy also served as interim athletic director from 2020 to 2021.
In 2022, Dunphy returned to his alma mater La Salle, signing on to become the Explorers’ new head coach. Dunphy crossed the 600-win threshold with a victory over Coppin State on Nov. 26, 2023. This season, La Salle is 12-15 including a 4-10 record in the Atlantic 10.
Dunphy leaves behind an incredible coaching legacy, particularly in the city of Philadelphia. His 623 career wins rank first in Big 5 history, and he remains the only coach to lead multiple Big 5 programs. But after 51 years as a coach, 17 NCAA tournament appearances, and a lifetime dedicated to the game of basketball, Dunphy is ready to hang up the whistle.
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