Temple University Athletics
John Chaney To Be Inducted Into Big 5 Hall Of Fame
9.1.09 | Men's Basketball
Former Owls coach to be joined by Rollie Massimino and Speedy Morris
Former Temple University men's basketball coach John Chaney will be inducted into the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame during the 2009-10 season, the league office announced today. Chaney, who is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame (2001), will be joined in the Big 5 Hall of Fame Class of 2010 by former Villanova University head coach Rollie Massimino and former La Salle University head coach Bill "Speedy" Morris. The date of the ceremony will be announced at a later date.
"The Big 5 Hall of Fame is something very special to all of us, but to be inducted with two of my friends, Rollie Massimino and Speedy Morris, who is one of the great icons in Philadelphia basketball, makes it even more special," Chaney said. "I am just overwhelmed that I can be inducted in a class with these coaching legends."
"This is a special day not only for Temple Basketball, but for Philadelphia Basketball," Temple University Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw said. "It was a no-brainer that John Chaney was going to be inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame, but to have him enter with two of his friends and colleagues in the coaching fraternity just makes it even more special."
Inducted into Temple's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009, Chaney led the Owls to 516 wins, 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and five trips to the Elite Eight in his 24 years at the helm (1982-83 through 2005-06). The school's all-time winningest basketball coach, who retired in 2006 with 741 career wins over 34 seasons, earned consensus National Coach of the Year honors in 1988, the year he led Temple to its first and only #1 national ranking. He also earned USBWA National Coach of the Year honors in 1987. In all, he led Temple to 23 postseason appearances in 24 seasons.
Under Chaney's leadership, the Owls earned five consecutive NCAA Tournament berths between 1984 and 1988. The program rode a school-record streak of 12 straight appearances in the March Madness field from 1990 through 2001, including five trips to the Elite Eight (1988, 1991, 1993, 1999 and 2001).
"I have had the honor to have coached with Speedy Morris at La Salle and follow Coach Chaney here at Temple University, as well as the privilege to coach against all three men during my career," Temple head men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy said. "What a great day for Philadelphia basketball."
In Big 5 competition, Chaney compiled an impressive record of 52 wins against 28 losses with his Owls teams winning outright or sharing 15 city-series titles.
Chaney joined Temple in 1982 after 10 years as basketball coach at Cheyney University, where he turned the program into a national Division II power. His Cheyney teams compiled a phenomenal 225-59 record, appeared in eight national championship tournaments and won the NCAA Division II title in 1978.
Chaney began his coaching career at Philadelphia's Sayre Junior High, where his teams won 59 of 68 games. He then moved up to Simon Gratz High and quickly turned a struggling 1-17 club into a perennial winner.
As a player, Chaney earned many honors. At Benjamin Franklin High, he was singled out as the Most Valuable Player in the Philadelphia Public League. At Bethune-Cookman College (Daytona Beach, Fla.), he was honored as an NAIA All-American and named the Most Valuable Player in the 1953 NAIA Championships. In the ensuing 10 years, as a professional player in the Eastern Basketball League, he was named all-pro six times and earned the league's MVP award in 1959 and 1960. He even doubled as a coach for two seasons.
A 1955 graduate of Bethune-Cookman College, Chaney also holds a master's degree from Antioch College. He and his wife Jeanne are the parents of a daughter (Pamela) and two sons (John and Darryl).
