'Mr. Big Five' Coach Fran Dunphy coaches 1K games as he gets ready to retire

LOGAN - Coach Fran Dunphy, known as "Mr. Big Five," is heading for retirement, but not before coaching one thousand games.

He was honored Wednesday night as the only one to coach multiple Big 5 teams and the winningest coach in Big 5 history.

What he's saying:

"Your face on these t-shirts," FOX 29’s Steve Keeley commented on the t-shirts bearing Coach Dunphy’s face on every seat in the arena.

Coach Dunphy laughed and said, "That’s my idea.

The smile and the sense of humor about his face being on t-shirts for every fan attending Coach’s one thousandth game in his final season as a college basketball head coach was readily visible as he mused, "I've been around a long time and the longevity has been unbelievable and so I feel very fortunate and all of my head coaching career was in in Philadelphia. I was born and raised here so it's an amazing thing what happened to me."

The backstory:

It started happening as a head coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 for a long stretch through 2006, when he left to be the head coach at Temple University for the next 13 years.

Then, the last three seasons at LaSalle, where he played from 1967 to 1970.

LaSalle’s men’s basketball announcer, Kale Beers, said, "I don’t know if there's another coach that could have coached three different Big 5 schools. We're so different, the rivalries are so intense. He's got the personality that people trust him with their programs."

Dig deeper:

The only one to coach multiple Big 5 teams and the winningest coach in Big 5 history, his legacy felt way beyond wins and losses.

They paid tribute to him Wednesday night before the game, the first of his last four regular season games left before the conference tournament. Fans of all generations came to say, ‘Thank you.’

A former player recruited by Coach Dunphy, Bron Holland explained, "I texted him the other night and said, ‘You’re the classiest man I know.’ He’s just a leader, a builder of men. He really made us alumni. Since he’s come back, we feel like we’re part of the family again, which is invaluable."

Big picture view:

"I’m feeling pretty good about where I am and what life will be like over the next number of years, but I’ll be good," Coach Dunphy commented.

632 wins, winning twice as much as he lost. But, the losses hurt twice as much as winning feels good. And, that is what sticks with him, "The good stuff kinda comes and goes. The bad stuff stays with you forever. It’s part of our business, the turmoil you suffer, because a tough loss can’t go away."

Hopefully, the losses, including Wednesday night’s, won’t keep him up at night so much when he walks off the court one last time.

"I’m wishing I could get a full six hours of sleep at night, but that ain’t happening," he remarked.