Chaney first became a basketball coach in 1963 at Sayre Junior High School and went 59–9 in three seasons. Inheriting a one-win team in 1966 at Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Chaney compiled a 63–23 record in six seasons.
Chaney’s first collegiate position was at Division II Cheyney State. At Cheyney, Chaney was 232–56. He won a national title in 1978.
After a decade at Cheyney, Chaney moved on to Division I Temple in Philadelphia. Chaney built a reputation as a tough coach who always demanded excellence on and off the court. He was well known for his early-morning practices, match-up zone defense, tough non-conference scheduling, and winning basketball teams.
Chaney won a total of 741 career games. He took Temple to the NCAA tournament 17 times. His 1987–88 Owls team entered the NCAA tournament ranked #1 in the country, and he reached the Elite Eight on five occasions. In 2001, Chaney was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
On December 20, 2004, during a win over Princeton, Chaney became the fifth active coach and 19th all-time to appear on the sidelines for 1,000 games, joining Lou Henson (New Mexico State, Illinois), Bob Knight (Army, Indiana, Texas Tech), Eddie Sutton (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, San Francisco), and Hugh Durham (Florida State, Georgia, Jacksonville).
On March 13, 2006, Chaney announced his retirement from coaching at a press conference, effective after Temple’s play in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Fran Dunphy was named Chaney’s successor following the season. Chaney has since been inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame, which recognizes the best in Philadelphia’s college basketball history.
Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
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