Temple University Athletics
Football Participates in Annual Be The Match Bone Marrow Donation Campaign
4.11.16 | Football
Get in the Game….Save a Life.
When presented with that challenge over the years, the Temple Football team has jumped in to help.
Each day, 360 patients in the United States will learn that they have blood cancer. Today, Temple football players helped register nearly 200 people to the bone marrow registry, in hopes that they can be someone's cure.
Standing in front of the Howard Gittis Student Center, players educated those who walked past on the drive and the importance of joining the registry. The players also helped to educated those who were interested in joining the registry, but may be worried about the process of donating.
For the thousands of people diagnosed every year with life-threatening blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, a cure exists. Over the past 25 years Be The Match®, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program®, has managed the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world.
In 2008, Villanova head football coach Andy Talley received a phone call from Be The Match® asking to partner with his decade long on-campus drive efforts. Through the years, Coach Talley enlisted many other college football programs to lead and host their own on-campus donor drives each spring. The football players span the campus, recruiting people to take the cheek swab test, thereby registering themselves as potential bone marrow donors on the Be The Match Registry.
Temple was one of the first to enlist. Little did they know at the time how much it would mean to the football program. A year earlier, a healthy freshman equipment manager, Michel'Le Daughtry (Misha to her friends), began working with the team.
By the summer of 2008, Misha was diagnosed with leukemia. Throughout Misha's three year battle with leukemia, she continued to work and be an inspiration to the football team any and every chance she had. Misha received a bone marrow transplant that allowed her to live a longer life and to continue to be an inspiration to the staff and players of the Temple Football program.
"When she got sick, she called me up and said 'I'm not going to be there in the fall that much because I just found out I have leukemia and I have to get treatment, but I told them they have to hurry up because I need to be back for football camp in two weeks, so they need to hurry up,'" said Megan Kita, Daughtry's roommate and friend in college.
The Temple football team had always been a large supporter of the bone marrow drives, even before one their own was affected.
"I remember doing a drive as a player and I thought it was a pretty cool thing to do," said Adam DiMichele, the team's current director of player development and former Owls' quarterback when Daughtry was in college.
By holding the bone marrow drive, which Kita has dubbed "Mission for Misha," DiMichele feels the team is honoring someone who made a lasting impact on the football program.
"When I heard about Misha passing, it was really devastating to a lot of people in the Temple family, so to have this in her honor is the least we could do for all she did for us," said DiMichele.
According to DiMichele, Daughtry "didn't have a bad bone in her body and had a smile that radiated through everyone." Kita remembers that Daughtry "was a fighter" and had an absolute positive outlook through her diagnosis.
"From the time she was diagnosed, she had an 'I'm going to beat this and do whatever I have to do so I can get back to football' attitude," said Kita. "The football team was what really motivated her to continue."
One person who got on the registry was her friend Marc Schaffer. "If you can honor a friend or do something in their memory, their spirit lives on. What better way to honor your friend than to help someone else…her spirit lives on in them."
In 2013, Schaffer got the call that he was a match. "It totally slipped my mind. I remember signing up. I was glad I got the call." In April 2013 while he was a graduate extern with the athletic training staff, Schaffer donated bone marrow to save the life of an unknown 21-year old with lymphoma.
After a brief period where the team didn't hold a drive, DiMichele realized that the team had to get behind the cause again. "When Megan came to me and asked if we can work with Be The Match® once again, I said "Whatever you need, you have our 100% support."
"Megan did all the work to get us back on track," said DiMichele. "Communicating with Be The Match®, scheduling things with the University, getting the volunteers and the prizes – that was a huge undertaking. But I understand why she did it. Misha was a special person, she was Temple through and through."
"My role was a bit easier. People take notice of our football players on campus. Today we asked them, 'Would you like to save a life?' How often do you get to ask someone that question? If you can have a chance to save a life, what more can you ask for? Then, you just have to give them the details."
Once someone decides to become a donor, they fill out some paperwork and swab their cheek with a Q-tip. Then they wait….for some it could be months, for others years, until a match is found.
For today though, the Temple University campus was filled with people who 'Got in the Game' and took a chance to save someone's life. "We've had a steady flow all day," said Kita. "It's been a very diverse group of people which is good for Be The Match®.
For those who were unable to make the drive and are still interested in joining the bone marrow registry, click here.
Click here to watch video.
When presented with that challenge over the years, the Temple Football team has jumped in to help.
Each day, 360 patients in the United States will learn that they have blood cancer. Today, Temple football players helped register nearly 200 people to the bone marrow registry, in hopes that they can be someone's cure.
Standing in front of the Howard Gittis Student Center, players educated those who walked past on the drive and the importance of joining the registry. The players also helped to educated those who were interested in joining the registry, but may be worried about the process of donating.
For the thousands of people diagnosed every year with life-threatening blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, a cure exists. Over the past 25 years Be The Match®, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program®, has managed the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world.
In 2008, Villanova head football coach Andy Talley received a phone call from Be The Match® asking to partner with his decade long on-campus drive efforts. Through the years, Coach Talley enlisted many other college football programs to lead and host their own on-campus donor drives each spring. The football players span the campus, recruiting people to take the cheek swab test, thereby registering themselves as potential bone marrow donors on the Be The Match Registry.
Temple was one of the first to enlist. Little did they know at the time how much it would mean to the football program. A year earlier, a healthy freshman equipment manager, Michel'Le Daughtry (Misha to her friends), began working with the team.
By the summer of 2008, Misha was diagnosed with leukemia. Throughout Misha's three year battle with leukemia, she continued to work and be an inspiration to the football team any and every chance she had. Misha received a bone marrow transplant that allowed her to live a longer life and to continue to be an inspiration to the staff and players of the Temple Football program.
"When she got sick, she called me up and said 'I'm not going to be there in the fall that much because I just found out I have leukemia and I have to get treatment, but I told them they have to hurry up because I need to be back for football camp in two weeks, so they need to hurry up,'" said Megan Kita, Daughtry's roommate and friend in college.
The Temple football team had always been a large supporter of the bone marrow drives, even before one their own was affected.
"I remember doing a drive as a player and I thought it was a pretty cool thing to do," said Adam DiMichele, the team's current director of player development and former Owls' quarterback when Daughtry was in college.
By holding the bone marrow drive, which Kita has dubbed "Mission for Misha," DiMichele feels the team is honoring someone who made a lasting impact on the football program.
"When I heard about Misha passing, it was really devastating to a lot of people in the Temple family, so to have this in her honor is the least we could do for all she did for us," said DiMichele.
According to DiMichele, Daughtry "didn't have a bad bone in her body and had a smile that radiated through everyone." Kita remembers that Daughtry "was a fighter" and had an absolute positive outlook through her diagnosis.
"From the time she was diagnosed, she had an 'I'm going to beat this and do whatever I have to do so I can get back to football' attitude," said Kita. "The football team was what really motivated her to continue."
One person who got on the registry was her friend Marc Schaffer. "If you can honor a friend or do something in their memory, their spirit lives on. What better way to honor your friend than to help someone else…her spirit lives on in them."
In 2013, Schaffer got the call that he was a match. "It totally slipped my mind. I remember signing up. I was glad I got the call." In April 2013 while he was a graduate extern with the athletic training staff, Schaffer donated bone marrow to save the life of an unknown 21-year old with lymphoma.
After a brief period where the team didn't hold a drive, DiMichele realized that the team had to get behind the cause again. "When Megan came to me and asked if we can work with Be The Match® once again, I said "Whatever you need, you have our 100% support."
"Megan did all the work to get us back on track," said DiMichele. "Communicating with Be The Match®, scheduling things with the University, getting the volunteers and the prizes – that was a huge undertaking. But I understand why she did it. Misha was a special person, she was Temple through and through."
"My role was a bit easier. People take notice of our football players on campus. Today we asked them, 'Would you like to save a life?' How often do you get to ask someone that question? If you can have a chance to save a life, what more can you ask for? Then, you just have to give them the details."
Once someone decides to become a donor, they fill out some paperwork and swab their cheek with a Q-tip. Then they wait….for some it could be months, for others years, until a match is found.
For today though, the Temple University campus was filled with people who 'Got in the Game' and took a chance to save someone's life. "We've had a steady flow all day," said Kita. "It's been a very diverse group of people which is good for Be The Match®.
For those who were unable to make the drive and are still interested in joining the bone marrow registry, click here.
Click here to watch video.
Ep. 6: Temple Athletics Weekly Recap; Field Hockey's Peyton Rieger
Tuesday, September 23
Evan Simon, 9/20/25
Sunday, September 21
Eric Stuart, 9/20/25
Sunday, September 21
K.C. Keeler, 9/20/25
Sunday, September 21
