March 13, 2023
Another underwhelming season for Temple Men's Basketball has pushed the Owls to move on.
Aaron McKie is stepping down as the Owls' head coach after four seasons and little headway made within the American Athletic Conference, the university announced Monday. He will be transitioning into a role as a special advisor to the athletics department.
CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein was first to report.
McKie, a Temple alumnus and fixture of the Allen Iverson-era Sixers during the late 1990s and early 2000s, joined the program's coaching staff in 2014 and, with much fanfare, was named the successor to longtime head coach Fran Dunphy beginning with the 2019 season.
But the Owls, and Big 5 Basketball as a whole, were rapidly losing their luster by that point, and McKie couldn't do much to change the team's fortunes in his few years at the helm – Granted, the COVID-19 pandemic did take a huge chunk of time away also.
"I want to thank Temple for the opportunity and privilege to serve as the head coach men's basketball coach," McKie said in a statement. "I wish nothing but the best for Temple's student-athletes and the University moving forward. Temple has been and always will be home for me and I wish the program nothing but success."
Temple went 52-56 overall during McKie's run as its head coach, with the Owls' best season during that span being their 17-12 run in 2021-22.
This season, however, may have brought on the Owls' highest of highs, when they upset the area's powerhouse Villanova, 68-64, on November 11 and then the No. 1 ranked Houston, 56-55, on January 22.
Still, there was never any sustained success. Temple finished the season 16-16 and then bowed right out of the AAC Tournament to Cincinnati, 84-54, helping to solidify the full City Six absentee sweep in the NCAA Tournament.
Temple never won a postseason game during McKie's tenure.
The Owls and the Big 5 have both seen way better days.
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