La Salle men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy, the winningest coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history, announced on Thursday that he will retire from his position at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Dunphy, 76, will transition to the role of special assistant to the president at La Salle, his alma mater, agreeing to a lifetime contract for that role.
“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, I could not be happier to stay at La Salle and work with President Allen, [athletic director] Ash Puri, and this great University that I call home.”
Dunphy spent 30 years as a head coach in Philadelphia, winning 623 games at Penn, Temple and La Salle, where he has spent the past three seasons. He made 17 NCAA tournament appearances: nine at Penn and eight at Temple — including six straight from 2008-13 when the Owls were in the Atlantic 10. He won 10 Ivy League regular-season titles, a pair of Atlantic 10 regular-season titles and the 2016 AAC regular-season title.
He’s the only coach to helm multiple Big 5 men’s basketball programs.
“On behalf of La Salle and the entire Philadelphia basketball community, we are thankful for Fran Dunphy’s incredible service, dedication, and integrity on and off the court. He has touched the lives of so many as a role model and as a father figure to his student-athletes,” La Salle president Dr. Daniel J. Allen said. “I look forward to continuing to work directly with Fran in his new advisory role and be part of another chapter of his legendary career.”
Dunphy started his college coaching career in 1971 as an assistant coach at Army, also spending time as an assistant at La Salle, American and Penn before becoming the head coach at Penn in 1989.
He returned to La Salle in 2022, replacing Ashley Howard as the Explorers’ head coach. They went 15-19 in his first year at the helm and 16-17 last season, but have struggled this season since starting the campaign with four straight wins. La Salle has lost five in a row to drop to 12-15 overall and 4-10 in the Atlantic 10.
The school said it will conduct a national search to find Dunphy’s successor.
