From The AD's Desk - January 2010

“From the AD’s Desk”

A monthly column from Temple University Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw

January 2010

I hope your holiday season was filled with good memories.

It was certainly a December to remember on North Broad Street, adding to what already was a very prosperous fall for our program. Signature men’s basketball wins over Penn State, Villanova and Seton Hall, a giant women’s basketball victory at Rutgers, and the football program’s participation in the EagleBank Bowl – witnessed by over 10,000 Temple alumni, fans and friends in person, not to mention millions more Owls worldwide – helped send 2009 out with a hoot!

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard “It’s a great time to be a Temple Owl!” over the last few weeks, the Owl Club would be benefitting from a big gift … seriously, though, these are very good times at Temple and in many more ways than you might think.

No doubt you’re familiar with the lush competitive success we’ve enjoyed recently: winning the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament, sending both hoops programs to the NCAA Tournament the past two years (the only non-BCS football-playing school to do so), excelling at the conference and national levels in gymnastics and fencing, earning a berth in the A-10 field hockey championship match, advancing to the conference semis in volleyball, and of course, engineering one of the nation’s dramatic comeback stories in football and giving new life to the John Chaney-created phrase “TEMPLE TUFF” brought back to life by Al Golden.

We measure success – as you also should – in many additional forms, however. While our competitive fortunes have been good, they have not come at the expense of high academic progress. Temple’s student-athletes continue to maintain a standard of excellence in the classroom, with no greater example than football’s claim to the most dramatic national increase in Division I academic profile since the NCAA introduced the Academic Progress Rate (APR). It’s more than just football, however. A record number of 3.0 students (including freshmen) were honored at last April’s “Breakfast of Champions” on our campus, and I anticipate we’ll break our own record again at the 2010 Breakfast, scheduled for April 28 at 7 a.m.

Impact and initiative in our community is another barometer of our departmental success. Our stance is this: we are fortunate that Temple’s urban location and proximity to neighbors and neighborhoods offers our student-athletes and coaches literally endless opportunities to serve those we share life’s experience with. The football team’s receipt of the Philadelphia Sports Congress Community Service Award last July meant a lot, but also motivated 23 other Temple teams to do more, reach further, impact greater.

You see, the last three paragraphs both justify and demonstrate success in achieving our Athletics vision: to create an atmosphere in which our student-athletes may pursue Comprehensive Excellence academically, athletically and socially while preparing them for productive, meaningful lives following graduation. This is why we exist. Our vision is to have it all: great grades, wins, and a deeper impact on others.

This is not to say that Temple Athletics is without challenges and obstacles ahead – some of them daunting. Practice and competition facilities need enhancing. Our Owl Club annual fund (particularly the Unrestricted Fund) must grow enough this year to compensate for budget cuts we now live with. We must continue to strengthen the academic support available to our student-athletes. We must find ways, some of them creative, to hire and retain our talented coaches and staff. We must continue to grow attendance and market/promote our brand with more savvy in the face of steep marketplace competition. We must find ways to attract the participation and investment of Temple alumni who may not be as aware of our positive momentum as you are.

Fortunately for our athletics program, many of these challenges can be overcome with one thing: Broad Participation by our constituents. In other words, our continued head-on focus on attendance and fundraising growth will create the cash-flow and “people-flow” that will strengthen our department overall. High-level Division I athletics is a business enterprise nowadays, and as the CEO of our program, I ask you to help our “stockholder growth” in 2010. Buy tickets and bring your friends and families to games. Join the Owl Club and ask every fellow graduate or fan you know if they are donors. Volunteer as an Owl Club Ambassador and spread the good news of our program to those in your workplace and neighborhood.

If you’ve heard me say all this before, or are familiar with my message from past columns, I’m sorry to be repetitive. This is our moment, however. We want to make sure these successful times continue. We can turn the corner – no, we ARE turning the corner – and can keep going. All of our hard work has gotten us to this point. It will take even more investment and contributions by everyone – staff, donors, and others – to reach the next step. What got us here won’t get us there!

As always, we are thankful for the broad participation of our alumni, fans and friends. With your continued loyalty, we shall achieve. We are TEMPLE TUFF. Go Owls!

Upcoming Events

January 30: 7^th Annual Owl Club Auction and John Chaney Big 5 Hall of Fame Induction – Two main events come to the Liacouras Center concourse during a Saturday basketball doubleheader! The Owl Club Silent auction begins at 11 a.m. prior to the men’s Noon tipoff, with a Live auction in the Fox-Gittis Room between the men’s and women’s games (2-3 p.m.). To donate an item or make a contribution, contact the Owl Club at (215) 204-2587. At halftime of the men’s game, be on hand to witness Temple legend John Chaney’s induction into the Big 5 Hall of Fame. (An official induction luncheon will be held at The Palestra Jan. 29: for tickets, visit www.philadelphiabig5.org).

February 3: National Signing Day Press Conference & Reception – All fans are welcome to join Coach Al Golden and the football staff as Temple unveils the football recruiting Class of 2010 in the Student Activities Center (Room 200) at 3:30 p.m. Following the media conference, Temple Xtra Point Club members and their guests are invited to a private reception with Golden and his staff, where a special recruiting highlight video will be shown. Not yet an Xtra Point Club member? Contact Patti Frey in the Owl Club at pfrey@temple.edu.

February 4: Crew Teams Comedy Benefit – Philly’s Field House (11^th & Filbert Sts.) hosts this unique comedy concert at 7:30 p.m. to benefit the Temple men’s and women’s rowing programs’ trip to the San Diego Crew Classic. Several local entertainers will perform and open for “headliner” Nehl Bobal ’87, a stand-up comedian from Los Angeles and a former Temple rower. Cost: $10 at the door.

February 12: Baseball First Pitch Reception – The Baseball Owls and Coach Rob Valli invite all alumni, fans and friends to preview the 2010 season, enjoy a buffet of ballpark fare and bid for baseball-themed silent auction items from 6-8 p.m. at McFadden’s Citizens Bank Ballpark. A guest speaker will be announced shortly. Cost $25 adults/$15 children under 12 and includes buffet, drink ticket and complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, and raffle ticket. Register online.

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From The AD's Desk - January 2010