After a drawn-out interview and negotiation process, Fran Dunphy has accepted an offer from Temple and will be formally introduced as the next head coach of men’s basketball at the school at a press conference at 3:00 pm on Monday afternoon. Dunphy, who leaves Penn as the all-time winningest coach in school history (310-163 in 17 seasons), now faces the tough task of succeeding a legend in Hall of Fame coach John Chaney. Temple was an NCAA Touranment mainstay and national power for much of Chaney’s tenure, but has settled for NIT bids each of the past five seasons, so Dunphy will be charged with restoring the program to Top 25 status. Multiple sources close to the program said yesterday that longtime Dunphy assistant Dave Duke — and possibly 2000 Penn graduate and current assistant Matt Langel — were expected to migrate to Temple along with Dunphy. Meanwhile, Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky isn’t wasting any time looking for a successor. The formal search process reportedly began late last week, and sources at other schools said Bilsky had requested permission to speak with potential replacements even prior to that.

Sources close to both schools have confirmed Penn coach Fran Dunphy has been offered the head coaching job at Temple. The long-awaited news comes after a protracted search that began when Hall of Fame coach John Chaney announced his retirement at a press conference back on March 13. Dunphy was immediately identified as the leading candidate for the job because of his relationship with Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw and his impressive track record at Penn. However, Temple interviewed a number of other candidates who had garnered support from factions of boosters, and the hiring decision had to be vetted by the Temple board and president. Temple held its season-end basketball banquet on Friday night, and Penn’s banquet will take place on Sunday, so nothing will be announced formally before Monday.

The Daily Pennsylvanian reports Penn senior Friedrich Ebede fully participated in practice on Tuesday and will be able to play in Friday’s NCAA Tournament First Round game against Texas in Dallas. Ebede had missed the final four regular season games with a groin injury sustained in the first half of the February 24 game against Harvard. The Cameroon native is averaging career highs in minutes (18.6), points (5.2), rebounds (3.2), and assists (1.0) per game in his senior season.

Penn coach Fran Dunphy is reportedly Temple’s top choice to replace John Chaney, who retired Monday after 24 seasons at the school. Dunphy is in his 17th year at the helm of the Penn program, and owns a 310-161 record there. He is busy preparing his team for its upcoming NCAA Tournament game against second-seeded Texas in Dallas on Friday. Some of the other names mentioned in connection with the Temple vacany include Drexel’s Bruiser Flint, former Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins, and former Owl assistant Dean Demopoulos. Temple hosts Akron in the opening round of the NIT on Tuesday, though top assistant Dan Liebovitz will be coaching the Owls instead of Chaney, who will be with his ailing wife.

Penn received a 15 seed and will face Texas (27-5) on Friday, March 17 in Dallas. The Longhorns won the regular season Big 12 title, but lost to Kansas in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament that was also played at American Airlines Center in Dallas — site of the First Round game. The winner of the Penn-Texas game will take on the winner of the California-North Carolina State 7-10 first-round matchup. Texas ranks fourth nationally in offensive efficiency at 1.13 points per possession and sixth defensively at 0.89 points per possession. Penn is 135th offensively (1.03 points per possession) and ninth defensively (0.90 points per possession). The time of the game will be announced in the coming days.