Steve Addazio needs $2 million in two weeks

Addazio poses with the greatest helmet
in the history of college football.

One of the disappointing things about not being in a position to be a big-dollar donor to the Temple University football program is that I don’t get a lot of the correspondence asking for money.
That might seem odd t to you but, as I’ve said before many times, if I had disposable income (like millions), I’d spend a good portion of it on the Temple football Owls.
Sadly, I don’t so I didn’t get the latest letter Steve Addazio penned a variety of big-ticket donors.

In it, he reportedly said that the uni was in the process of raising $8.5 million for expansion to the E-O and needed “$2 million in contributions by Aug. 1 to greenlight the project.”
Knowing Temple fans like I do, that deadline, to be kind, seems a tad ambitious.
You don’t go through 30 years of losing and post two winning seasons and expect $2 million in contributions in a month of the offseason.
Just doesn’t happen. The belief system is just not in place.
Yet.
I do my part in small ways, like this blog.
I had a haircut in Center City Philadelphia last Wednesday and proudly wore my “Temple Owls Football” T-Shirt and had a few thousand people take notice of it as I walked 20 blocks from the Inquirer building to the Barber Shop.


Temple vs. PSU single-game tickets
on sale now:



Hopefully, the advertising was subliminal.

Today, I stopped at the Lehighton Walmart wearing the same shirt (washed, of course) and a guy came up to me and said, “Temple. Go Owls.”
He was wearing full Phillies gear.
Lehighton is in the middle of Penn State territory (actually, anyplace north of Allentown is).
“This is the year we finally beat Penn State,” I said.
“God, I hope so,” the man said.
That’s what it will take to raise $2 million in less than one month, not a letter from a popular new head coach.
I hope I’m wrong, but 30 years of observing this fan base tells me otherwise.
If you have an extra $2 million or even $2,000 to contribute, please contact bill.bradshaw@temple.edu and I’m sure he will be able to give you further info on this project or direct you to someone who will.
If you do have $2 million, please make the payment contingent upon Addazio keeping the TEMPLE helmet.

14 thoughts on “Steve Addazio needs $2 million in two weeks

  1. I can't believe he is changing back to the T. I love the T but not on the helmet!I found out about it on this site:http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/It's an awesome site that shows the history of each team's helmet. Anyway, I think the switch is a bad omen. Our successful years were the years we had the TEMPLE on the side of the helmet!

  2. If we go less than 10-2, I will blame it on the new shitty helmets. Bad Karma. Bad, Bad Karma.I hope I hit the lotto before the end of the month. IF … IF … I do, I will pledge the entire $8.5 million contingent on three (3) years of keeping the TEMPLE helmet.

  3. Mike: why are you so quiet on all the verbal commitments by rising high school seniors? The Inky suggests it's a huge deal. Thanks.

  4. It is a big deal, but I learned a long time ago not to get too excited about verbals. Pitt has a starting strong safety from Hudson Catholic who verbaled to Temple and there are numerous other examples of our recruits being stolen by BCS schools. So I won't get too excited until Feb. 4 when the signatures are on a dotted line.

  5. Got it and thank you.

  6. TFF,agree with you. verbals are what they are – verbals. heck, that Onett kid could have a great year and sign with a top 10 program……,the letter from DAZ didn't say much but it was the first letter I received with his signature… sort of expected a letter from him like three months ago……, GO OWLS, BEAT VILLANOVA! Our goals this year are simple: win the city, win the state, win the East, win the MAC, win a bowl game AND accept the invite from the Big East

  7. Temple Fan -The Temple Football Season Ticket Holder Party is scheduled for Monday, August 1 from 6 PM – 7:30 PM at McFadden's (Citizens Bank Park location). Enjoy free food, appearances by members of the Temple Cheerleaders and Diamond Gems Dance Team, as well as the opportunity to meet Head Coach Steve Addazio! This event is only open to current Temple Football season ticket holders. If you have not yet renewed your 2011 Temple Football season tickets, please call the Temple Sales Office at 215-204-8499. To RSVP for this event (you may invite as many guests as you have tickets in your account) and pick up your 2011 Temple Football season tickets, please e-mail: tixsales@temple.edu or contact your personal Account Representative:Corey Ruff: (215) 204-7243David Orr: (215) 204-7290Andrew Morrison: (215) 204-7262Brett Arnold: (215) 204-7270Please RSVP by NO LATER than Thursday, July 28 at 5 PM. If you're unable to make the event, your season tickets will be mailed out the following week.Thank you again for your support of Temple Football!Go Owls!

  8. thanks for the info. … a real bummer. these parties are usually scheduled for mid to late August, so I scheduled a Pocono vacation for the first week of August. I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone because I'm going to the Phillies game on Aug. 18 and would have loved to stop by McFadden's, pick up the tickets, hear Addazio's explanation on the recruits screaming BIG EAST and then walk over to the Phils.

  9. I mean, the 2011 owls are not the 2004 owls. But, then again, there's no guarantee that the 2012 team won't be. To be honest, we lost a lot of our defensive talent and from what I've seen, Temple's recovery was in large part…the defense and a BCS hb that we stumbled into (and an actual commitment to the program from the university.)Wouldn't it be better to re-up a shorter term contract (3?) with the MAC, or, maybe change over to the C-USA (I think was floated around earlier this year or late last)? The students at Temple are just now really starting to be aware that their team can win…to jump back in and get mopped up like turkey gravy, I dunno. It could be my lack of perspective on how much better one conference is to the next, but, could Temple survive the jump back into the Big East?

  10. I would not worry about the 2011 Owls. … AG put the Owls in a good position to survive the losses of JJ and MW. In fact, I think the DL is a lot deeper and more talented than last year's DL was, including MW. This team will get to the QB. JJ's loss could be more problematic, but watch for incoming Gainesville safety Kenny Harper to be a four-year starter like JJ was. Remember JJ was good right away and I think Kenny will be, too. This team is better overall than the 2009 and 2010 teams and light years better than the 2004 team. I'm excited to see what Steve Addazio brings to the table, motivational wise, and what Chuck Heater and Scot Loeffler bring to the table from the standpoint of having their shit together on game days. I don't think anybody could say Matt Rhule and Mark D'Onofrio had their shit together on a lot of game days.

  11. Just curious, any idea how well the ticket office is doing so far with season tickets and 3 pack. Will we have sell out for PSU? I am hoping we can get an avg of 32K. That will help secure BE invite.

  12. AD Bill Bradshaw has reported that there currently is a 55 percent increase in season ticket sales from the 2010 season until now and counting. Pretty impressive since there was a 33 percent increase in season ticket sales from 2009. Penn State sellout is a lead-pipe cinch since game was sold out in 2007 and Temple has had a MUCH better team in 08, 09 and 10 and even better prospects for 11.

  13. The sales increase sounds really encouraging, and I think representative of the higher recognition Temple gets. Had my bowl game shirt on a little bit ago, and some random guy on the street points and says, "you guys should have won. (how about) this season?!" I would feel like a huge football nerd sitting down and researching the entire depth chart, still, it might allay my fears. I know we don't talk about recruits yet, but Temple did pick up some good verbals. One these kids is a 3-star from Rancocas, 6'8, 300lb, and apparently passed on offers from Rutgers and Syracuse, was getting watched by Pitt and Florida (AG?) Maybe Daz is as good at the recruiting thing as everyone says.

  14. Just remembered. Not AG Florida, had a coach mix-up in my head, haha.

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