Last donations: William B., Phoenixville (12/9/25, thanks William, our first contribution since Oct.) Ed S., New Hope, and Joe S., Drexel Hill thanks to both Ed and Joe; David N., Silver Spring, Md. 10/10/25 (thanks so much, Dave) Brian C., North Philly 9/27/25 ; John from Landenberg (who we sat next to when Temple beat Maryland, 38-7) at the game today 9/6/25 (thanks, John); Jon E., Cincinnati (8/30/25), thanks, Jon; David K., Glen Mills, 8/25/25; Eric B., San Diego 8/23/25; Jay M., Salem Ore. 8/15/25 (proving that Temple Owls are everywhere. Thanks, Jay). Another anonymous donation from the same source (thanks a bunch), 8/10/2025; Anonymous (your generosity is greatly appreciated, much thanks) and Joe F., Nashville, Tenn,, 8/5//25 (thanks, Joe, our first contribution in over a month); Steve B., Rose Valley, Pa., a Temple fan (thanks, Steve, that goes in the pot for a backup laptop if this one goes down Only $300 away), 7/6/25:
Earlier:
6/15/25 (Ed S., New Hope–thanks Ed!!!)
Earlier:
Michael A., Havertown, PA (thanks, Mike); 5/14/25 Anoymous (thanks, much appreciated) 4/25/25, David B., Delaware (owner of the most photogenic dog on the internet and someone who I and the late Phil M. had a great conversation with at the 2012 UConn game… can’t believe how time flies, thanks, Dave!!! will definitely meet up again at the next Temple at Delaware game); Matt P. (former Temple player under Al Golden), 4/21/2025 (thanks, Matt, could not have come at a better time because we have a bill for this site coming 4/30 and did not know how we were going to pay it); Brian, Philadelphia (thanks, Brian for being a long-time reader, sorry I missed you at C&W this year) 4/15/25; Ed S., New Hope, PA (4/6/25; thanks Ed, our first donation in nearly two months);
2/8/25: Anonymous.
Robert G., Quakertown, 12/17/24 and Joe F., Philadelphia, 12/16/24.. thanks for taking some of the sting out of paying to fix this laptop. Much appreciated.
Others:
Brian C., Philadelphia.
Anonymous, Anywhere USA (thanks for the generous donation), 9/2/24; David B., Delaware (8/24/24), thanks, David!) Ed P., Yardley, Pa. (6/20/24) …. thanks, Ed!!
David E., Philadelphia, Pa., 6/19/24 (thanks David); Zamani F., Philadelphia, Pa. June 7 (thanks, Z) Michael A., Havertown, Pa, May 9; John J., South Bloomingville, Ohio May 5; Hill Studios, Paulsboro, N.J. (thanks for breaking the longest time between contributions in TFF history), May 1, 2024 (the three May contributions will keep us afloat through the summer, thanks, Mike, John and Hill Studios it’s great to know people care); Jon E., Cincinnati, 10/11/23 (thanks, Jon); John from Landenburg at the Miami game (in the parking lot no less), 9/23/23. Thanks, John. Great conversation as always.
Two donations on opening day against Akron, one at the game from Ed of Perkasie and one from the greatest punter in Temple history, Eddie L., of the same hometown of Bruce Springsteen (our first contributions since April and they keep this site going; much appreciated); Heriberto S., McDonough, GA, 4/24/23 (thanks, Heriberto!!) Two on 4/14/23 (thanks to Joe F. and Ross M. ); Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla. 2/18/23 (thanks, Tom!!!)Ed P., Yardley, Pa. (1/9/23; thanks, Ed,) Lawrence S., West Chester, Pa., 12/28/22, our first contribution in over a month (thanks Larry, this will help in having to replace the printer we purchased in the summer that went on the fritz); Bob C., Chadds Ford, Pa., 11/27/22 (thanks Bob, our first contribution since September) Ed P., Perkasie, Pa. who donated 9/24/22 at the UMass game and Ed and I both remember and love Pennridge coach Wayne Helman; Joe S. (Delaware County), 9/3/22 (thanks Joe, hope to see you at Lafayette or RU); James G. (thanks James and for all the great posts you make on this site),, 7/29/22: Matt P. (former Al Golden player, thank you Matt for the generous donation it will be put to good use as we will explain in Monday’s post), 6/9/22; Matt F., Horsham, Pa. (thanks, Matt!!), June 6, 2022; David, B., Milton, DE (thanks, Dave), April 11, 2022: Andy B., Philadelphia, Pa. (our first donation of 2022, thanks Andy), March 3, 2022; Ed P., Yardley, Pa. 12/25/21 (thanks, Ed for the Christmas donation); Matt F., no hometown found (“a celebratory donation for Carey’s firing”), 11/30/21 thanks, Matt; Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio, 11/29/21 (thanks, Jon for the donation and the great comments on this site); James G., Royersford, Pa. 11/28/21 (thanks, Jim, for the donations and your comments on the website); Anonymous (no home town given but donation really appreciated), 11/20/2021; Roger D., Rehoboth Beach,, Del., 10/24/21; Joe S., Drexel Hill, Pa. 10/3/21 (thanks, Joe) At the BC game (9/18), John from Landenburg (thanks, John for being a great friend of this site for so many years); Three Aug. 21 donations: Eric A (former player), Atlanta, Ga; Anonymous (by request), Cincinnati, Oh; Tim R., Buffalo, N.Y. (sincere thanks to all); David N., Silver Springs, Md (thanks Dave) 7/10/21; former Temple player Matt P., who lives in Columbus, GA now (thanks Matt) 7/9/21; Joe F., Philadelphia (4/7/11, thanks Joe) Matt F., Horsham, Pa., 3/27/21 (thanks, Matt); Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio (1/31/21, thanks Jon) Ed P.,, Yardley, Pa. (thanks, Ed, much appredicated), 1/16/21; Mitchell S. , 12/21/20, our first contribution since (10/8) earlier, Former Owl Bruce G., Flourtown, Pa, who generously donated $100 in “honor” of the Ambler guy 10/8/20; (if they hate you in Ambler, we love you in Flortown,” BG says). Thanks, BG, we appreciate it; Earlier: James G., Philadelphia (7/21/20, thanks James) Robert B., Philadelphia (7/13/20, thanks, Bob, hope to see you at the tailgates again this fall); Previous: Jon E. from Cincinnati 6/15/20, our first donation this calendar year (thanks, Jon); Earlier, John from Landenberg; Kurt B., Wyomissing Hills, PA (former Temple player, 10-15-19) Earlier: David B. , Springfield, PA (9/26/19 … thanks, Dave!) also John from Landenberg (9/21/19); Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla. (8/22/19, thanks Tom!! Also, 10 days earlier, Bob. C and Joe S. and, on June 26, first bowl MVP Mark B.
Earlier: Matt F., Philadelphia; Matt P. (former Temple player) John from Landenberg and Jon E. from Cincinnati
Jay M. no hometown found ; Earlier: William B. Chicago; John from Landenberg, ; Mark B, South Jersey, Joe S, Springfield, PA…,
Also:
Ed P., Perkasie, Pa; and Richard W. (no hometown given); Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Tim C., no hometown available; Bob C., David B., Springfield (Montco); Mark B., from South Jersey; John from Landenberg, Pa.; Joe S., Primos, PA; Thomas W., Palm Coast Fla; Jon E., Cincinnati; Mike S.,no hometown; Ed P., Yardley; William B., Chicago; Matt M., Philadelphia; Matt T.., Oreland; Kevin H., Philadelphia; John from Landenberg, Pa.; Carl M, Silver Spring, Md.;; Brett K., Swedesboro, N.J.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Ed M., Paoli, Pa.; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Ross M., Garden City, NY; David K., Malvern; Jon E., Cincinnati ; Jon, SE Ohio; Cordalia and Jim S., Eastampton, NJ.; Herb G., Newport News, Va.; Richard W., Royersford; Matt T., Philadelphia, Pa.; MWB, Mechanicsville, Va.; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; K.J., Alexandria, Va.; Jeff D., Philadelphia,; Michael R., Philadelphia,Matt T, Philadelphia, Pa.; Ed M., Paoli, Pa.(8 in a row for 8 in a row, thanks EM); Jake and Diane Gicker, Dunmore, Pa.; Ed M., Paoli, Pa.; Adrian R. Sr., Harrisburg, Pa.; Frank M., Marlton, N.J.; Ernie, Millville, N.J.; ; Jay M., Salem, Ore.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Phil E., Lorton, Va; Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla.; Matt M., (five donations in a row); Kevin F., Philadelphia, Pa.;Matt M. (three donations in a row, thanks, Matt); Matt M.; Matt M.; Brian C., Philadelphia, Pa.; Matt M., Hometown ;Unknown; David N., Silver Spring, Md.; Matt M., hometown unknown; Frank K., Horseheads, N.Y.; Mike F., Montauk, N.Y.; John, Landenberg, Pa.; Michael B, D.C.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; James G., Philadelphia, Pa.; Michael R., Philadelphia, Pa.; David N., Silver Spring (Md.);
Mark H., Gilbertsville, Pa.; Lisa M., Hummelstown, Pa.; Johnny Who, West Chester, Pa.; John T., Medford, N.J. (formerly North Catholic, Philly); Jon, SE Ohio; Jay M., Salem, Ore.; Dan M., Moscow, Pa.; Cyrus, Oklahoma City; Jon E., Cincinnati; Chris K., Harrisburg, Pa.; Chip M., Silver Spring, Md.; Dave B., Springfield, Pa.; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; Ross M., Garden City, N.Y.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Ed F., Philadelphia, Pa.; Frank P., Jamison, Pa.; Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Matt G., Haddonfield, N.J.; Tom L., Charlottesville, Va.; Thomas S., Landisville, Pa.; Jack D., Haddonfield, N.J.; Heriberto S., McDonough, Ga; Dr. Jim S., Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Dick White, Milton, Del.; Matt T., Philadelphia; Jerome S., North Caldwell, N.J.; Mike D., Fairview, N.C.; Tim W., Myerstown, Pa.; Edward P., Yardley, Pa.; Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla.; Kurt B., Wyomissing, Pa.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Tom S., East Norriton, Pa.; Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio; Matt T., Yardley, Pa.; Steve C., West Chester, Pa.; Floyd, Blackwood, N.J.; Jim J., Chalfont, Pa.; John, Landenberg, Pa; Jon E., Cincinnati; Ron A., Camp Hill, Pa.; Jay S., Jenkintown, Mr. John H.; Jonathan N., Atlanta, Ga.; Michael E., Levittown, Pa.; Ted D., Media, Pa. Nick and Sharon, Upper Bucks County; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Todd H., New York City; Alex H., Westport, CT; Joe S., Primos, PA; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; Ross M., Garden City, N.Y.; Stanley G., Mountain Top, Pa.; David N., Silver Spring, Md.; Micah F., Philadelphia, Pa.; James S., Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla.; Johnny B. at the Hill Studio, Paulsboro, N.J.; Nick C., Philadelphia; Tom C., Birmingham, Ala.; Phil. E. (Fast Phil), Lorton, Va; Jerome S., North Caldwell, N.J.; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; George P., Downingtown, Pa.; Edward F., Philadelphia; Bryan S., North East, Pa.; Josh P., West Chester, Pa.; Brent Z., Atlanta, Ga.; David B., Springfield (D), Pa; Lisa M., Hummelstown, Pa.; David H., Pottstown, Pa.; Brian O., Ambler, Pa; Frank P., Jamison, Pa.; Brian C., Philadelphia; Mark B., Manlius, N.Y.; Ted D., Media; Scott J., Columbus, Ohio; Thomas H., Mullica Hill, N.J.; George T., Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Rob G., Fleetwood, Pa; Steve C., West Chester, Pa.; Fred A., St. Augustine, Fla.; Michael S., Westfield, N.J.; John, Landenberg, Pa.; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; Frank P., Jamison, Pa; Matt G., Basking Ridge, N.J.; Joe S., Primos, PA; Nick and Sharon, Upper Bucks County; John T., Medford, N.J.; Cap P., Finksburg, Md; Coolowl, New York City; Michael B., Washington, D.C.; Oakee, Salem, VA; Rob from Fleetwood; John from New Kensington; Kathyrn, Bloomingville, Ohio; Rockland Owl; Matt, Haddonfield, N.J.; Anthony, New York City; Jason F., Berlin (N.J.); Ed, New Hope; Mark B., Manlius, N.Y.; Mike, Lindenwold, N.J.; Tom C., Birmingham, Ala. Jim, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Kurt, Wyomissing Hills, PA;
Dave, Ocean City, N.J.; James, Chalfont; Ross, Garden City (N.Y.); Schmitty, Ocean City, N.J.; Sarge (via Schmitty);
Broad Street Leon; Martin, Encino (Calif.); John, Boston; Mike, Susannanoa, N.C.; Francis, Lansdale; Tom L., Charlottesville, Va.; Mark, Gilbertsville, Pa.; Frank, Sebastian, Fla.; George, Toms River, N.J.; Tom, Branchburg, N.J.; Chris, Philly (our first Philly donation!); John, Landenberg, Pa.; Tom S. East Norriton, Pa.;
Temple Football Forever 
Don’t forget about Lenny Williams at QB. His high school numbers were off the chart.
I’m getting the distinct impression it’s P.J. 1, LM 2, Lenny 3 but you are right Lenny is going to be very good. The Frankford kid getting significant minutes at Temple is only a pipe dream in that kid’s dad’s head.
Just read that Matt brown was arrested for human trafficking of underage girls. Talk about a waste of life and talent.
What a terrible week.
terrible week for past Owl greats, terrible sports year for Temple.. Owls finish 77th in FBS (76 FBS teams play in bowl games). Owls finish 69th (really much higher because a lot of these automatic qualifiers are bogus) and 68 teams go to the big dance. less than a year ago uni drops baseball after a largely successful 87-year run. How much heartbreak can one fan base endure? at least there were no Hail Mary’s thrown against us.
It has been a serious of black eyes for a program with very little bright moments to cling to.
I am sure that one could make the case of these incidents being isolated or point to the fact that in Brown and Bernard’s cases, they no longer are on the team. However, it still, in my opinion, a reflection on the program and the University.
When a program pretty much sucks most of the time AND produces bad people, boy that’s just not good.
I certainly hope that this turns out to be just one awful week/year. It’s time for something to be proud of once and for all.
heartbreaking and the Ravens dropped BP for drunken driving
The culture has to change.
FB Program is a joke right now.
They need a dynamic new head coach, new ad, and a new university president who gives a rats ….
Mark Hudspeth, Ed Rendell and Tom Jurich who took Louisville from a program that got beat 55-14 by Temple to what it is today. Rendell would navigate Temple through political quicksand, Temple football fans would not have to scratch their heads wondering what their coaching staff is thinking after every game under Hudspeth (and the time outs wouldn’t be used up in the first 2 minutes of each half for shit that should have been addressed in practice) and Jurich would get the Owls in the ACC just like he got Louisville there. Have to open up the checkbook but no more persuasive person for that task than Rendell.
Rendell would be a terrific university president. It would suit a model that has seen politicos like David Boren running Oklahoma University and Lamar Alexander run the U. of Tennessee and enjoy success in those posts. You don’t need a elected official, though. Penn’s Amy Guttman is a very good politician, as was Constantine Papadakis at Drexel — and Liacouras. A guy like Theobald as admirable as he seems to be in many ways has no idea of that running this school, in this city, is all about.
“The FB program is a joke right now”? we just had one of our best recruiting classes. added Adonis Jennings from Pitt. we go into next season as one of the favorites in the AAC. every college FB media outlet has us as a program on the rise. we r about to embark on one of the most pivotal seasons in our history. we have a coach who knows how to recruit n had us bowl eligible if not for a clueless league commissioner. 4 star recruits (Ruff, Ali, Simmons, Davis) are deciding to come play for us. i would say this program is far from a joke.
8-16 is a joke. get back to me when we have multiple winning seasons. recruiting classes and “on the rise” and four-stars are mere speculations. I want wins. Now.
Mike-
Do you think anything remotely like that could happen?
or do we get more of the same sewer shit?
more sewer shit because the only person who cared about Temple being respectable in sports and had the money to make bullshit walk died in a plane crash.
R.I.P Lew
TU is being punished by the college sports stars for not taking care of business for almost forty years by trying to succeed on the cheap. Former AD Dave O’Brien forecast that big time football was vitally important to the athletic success of a university twenty years ago and instead of listening to him, the school got rid of him because of his position. Then, until recently, the school spent little money on facilities. Although it’s commendable that it spent the money, it might be too late. Finally, very few people support athletics. I believe that there are only 1600 or so Owl club members even though it costs $9.00 a month to be a member. In college sports, fans get what they pay for, which, currently at TU, is mediocrity.
Meant to write college sports gods, not stars.
totally agree on all points. we are still paying a football coach $1.2 million to get us into and win bowl games. when there are only 126 teams and 76 of them make bowls, that is not too much to ask. I hope this wonderful man and nicest guy of all the Temple coaches I have ever met begins a long streak of bowl wins this year. I’m rooting for him but based on what I’ve seen on game days and nights the last 2 seasons, the learning curve might be too steep.
my thoughts exactly, met MR at the downtown Doubletree before his first home game two seasons ago and my first opinion has not changed since…, deer in the headlights and way over his head…, stand by my earlier comments that an on-campus stadium is a bridge too far for this program…, Power Five conferences are running the NCAA…, Temple will have to win eight games to get selected for a bowl if they don’t win the conference…, hard to fathom winning the conference over Cincy, UCF, and Navy and don’t see 8 wins on the schedule
The fact that they likely won’t win 8 is a travesty because there is real talent on this team. We have to hope that the new QB coach will eventually subsume Satterfield’s responsibilities and make a real difference.
the thing people don’t understand is that you can like Matt Rhule the person and not like Matt Rhule the coach. The world is littered with nice guys who were great assistant coaches just don’t have the right stuff to be head coaches. There is no shame in that. It’s the Peter Principle.
the fact that a 23-10 Temple basketball team did not make the big dance and a whole bunch of Power 5 first-round losers did is a sobering commentary on Power 5 conferences ruining the NCAA. I hope somebody like Xavier wins this whole thing. What am I saying? If Xavier gets there, the Power 5 will get to the refs.
The Big East has turned into the Big Least. Hopefully, next year the committee comes to the realization that the conference is not the talent-filled football affiliated conference it used to be. Schadenfreude rules the day because of Villanova’s loss. Love it especially because they blew up the old big East because of TU’s admittance.
I recognize that part of Villanova’s action in blowing up the big east was Syracuse’s and Louisville’s departure but TU’s acceptance was mainly their motivation. And I too believe that Matt Rhule is as decent a human being as there is. That should not be confused with his ability, or lack thereof, to coach.
Deer in Headlights, indeed.
absolutely. the narrative of making this Matt Rhule Apologists and Matt Rhule Haters is bogus. There are no Matt Rhule Haters but there are plenty of Matt Rhule Apologists. I like the guy. I hate the 8-16 and the losses to Fordham, Idaho and 0-9 Uconn. Those were huge, huge (and did I say HUGE?) red flags that might foretell the next three years.
Right now, depending on how this season turns out, I’m going to stay optimistic and write off those to a first year coach who clearly wasn’t ready to take on the HC role and had a bigger learning curve than anticipated. That being said anything less than a winning season in 2015 with these top recruits, pretty much the entire starting defense returning and what look to be some solid additions to the coaching staff, then I say this program is in trouble. As was posted earlier this is a pivotal season for Temple FB and I think a make or break year for Rhule.
this is an 8-9 talent team that i fully expect to win only 6-7 because of gameday decision-making. I hope I’m wrong but that’s just the way I see it based on past gamedays.
5-19 Al Golden’s record after season 2. It took Golden 4 years to win 6 games his second and third season both in the MAC were four and Five win seasons. Rhule wins 8 games this season. People forget Goldens offensive struggles and time out issues and Qb issues etc etc BC when you win its forgotten. Matt Rhule will win games in 2015. And Temple fans will still have complaints BC this team with this administration will never invest enough money to be looked at by a P5 and will always be a stepping stone job for any coach who wins. Someone mentioned cincy model as one temple needs to follow and that’s spot on. BC if a p5 were to add a university. I’m sure with cincys football and basketball success they’re ahead of Temple. But the Matt Rhule haters do exist. So do the MRAs. IDC who coaches as long as they win. And again 6-6 is what the 5th best record we have had at TU in 20 years. You guys act like this is a prestigious program that wins every year. Its a program that has had 3/4 winning seasons since 1990!!!!!! Yet BC of a coaches first season at 2-10 and yes it was pitiful. He’s the worst coach on the FBS. After 2015 it’ll be a combination of weather…luck…good health etc etc as the excuse he won 7 or 8 games. Just like the haters said after the first ranked win in 3 decades that Rhule pulled of this year. Time will tell and 2015 will prove a lot one way or the other.
there are no matt rhule haters. there are haters of 8-16. 5th best record with better talent won’t cut it anymore. if matt rhule’s “fans” think questioning his ability to coach on game day is “hating” they need to be a little less sensitive. It’s possible to like the man and hate the record.
How in the world can even an “inexperienced” coach not see that his O scheme is simply not working and consequently change it? Hopefully he will this coming season and with the talent available, have a nice season. If he doesn’t, isn’t it the responsibility of the higher ups to step in and demand some changes and/or call him on the carpet? At 1.2 mil there should be some expectations set and reviewed annually, shouldn’t there? That salary may not be in the higher echelon of coaches salaries, but its twice what MAC and many other Div 1A coaches make. C’mon Temple, you’re out of doing things “on the cheap” level, so expectations should be raised and demanded or else! I don’t think it’s too late, but getting a competent game-day coach, not just recruiter, isn’t too much to ask. I view Temple as being on the edge, at a critical time, and with some tough (“Temple Tough?) action by the coach and/or higher ups, they CAN get better. And that’s a positive outlook.
^^ Here here
The NCAA has created a world of “haves” and “have nots”. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to develop a four year plan to land Temple in a power five conference. The true genius will be in the execution.
Fortune favors the bold…, develop the plan, announce it, market the plan, and then execute it. Temple football can’t move to the next level (recruiting, top shelf coaches, etc) without being in a power five conference. what is the vision for Temple athletics? who knows? not sure if the university has a plan, or if they are afraid to announce it…, if you don’t know where you are going then any road will take you there?
apologize for the rant, but I’m just sick and tired of being sick and tired about Temple athletics in general, and specifically Temple Football
btw, no sure who said the infamous “we are not getting into an arms race”, what reality screen TV are they watching? the NCAA has created a world of super powers vs third world (non-power five) institutions,
so Temple – go out and develop or buy that nuclear weapon so you can have a seat at the table and enjoy all the the confernce money that comes with it.
this is a no brainier – it wil cost the university more, including the lost opportunity cost, by staying out of a power five conference than by investing the dollars to get in a power five
hello, is anybody listening at Temple? are the lights on?
Temple’s hand is on the light switch but it won’t move unless and until alumni funding makes such a move possible. As I’ve stated previously, giving by alums is atrocious and membership in the Owl club is worse. On top of that, where are the fans? Those that attend the football games know that the number of people actually attending the game is far less than announced attendance. The discrepancy happens because the university counts tickets sold and not tickets used. BB is really no better. Given the foregoing, why should millions be spent when there’s no guarantee that the people will attend if they built such a program. Frankly and unfortunately, there are far more reasons to de-emphasize athletics than there are to throw more money at it. This is quite an unfortunate situation but it clearly controls what currently is occurring.
In addition, no conference will take the Owls unless and until they have a dedicated place to play for the next fifty years. Right now, no one knows where they are going to play after 2017. And frankly, if the Big Twelve invited TU, the football team would make Kansas look like the best team in the country. It would be years, if ever, before the Owls would be competitive. Look at West Virginia who’s program was light years ahead of TU’s. Very few fans would attend and the media backlash would be devastating. Look at what the media said when TU was in the Big East, a league that had Miami and not much more. Imagine having to play Baylor, TCU Oklahoma etc. year in year out. Five hundred would be an exceptional season. All of this makes it essential that football win eight games this season. A season like the last two, I’m afraid, will finally put the last nail in the coffin and result in the burial of the football program.
The thing is P5 schools don’t actually make much money from athletics or any at all. Almost all the money goes back into athletics.
Right now Temple athletics costs the university and state money. So spending more money is really difficult. Donors have to step up if the AD is to spend more money.
The problem is that Temple doesn’t have much of a culture. Though the on campus student population is growing, most of them go to CC, Northern Libs, and Fishtown to hangout. These students aren’t building memories of Temple they are building memories of Philly. I teach at Temple, I ask my students who is going to the NIT games, and not a single one is. You mention the Eagles and they go crazy. The amount of money these students will give back to the university is not much and when they don’t have fond memories of sports they definitely won’t be donating to the AD.
Interesting first sentence of your comment as proven by this story:
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/08/ncaa_study_finds_all_but_20_fb.html
The guy who made that statement “Temple won’t get into an arm’s race” is none other than Patrick J. O’Connor, who is the Chairman of the BOT (in other words, Theobald’s boss). Somewhere, Howard Gittis and Lew Katz are turning over in their graves.
Again I say, Temple just isn’t a rah, rah kind of school for many reasons and probably never will be. So expectations for the teams need to be kept in perspective and reasonable under the circumstances. That said, it doesn’t mean Temple can’t attain some success and look decent nationally, not top notch and vying for national championships but not embarrassing themselves either. Winning seasons with some bowl games on a regular basis (if not every year) I believe is attainable at Temple but the higher ups need to be smarter with their decisions especially hiring coaches. The basketball program is already at the level I’m talking about and football can get there too, but like I said above, some accountability based on stated expectations is in order. Personally I don’t care if they get into a P5 conference if they can simply be respectable. Then we’ll see if donations, attendance, Owl Club membership, etc., etc. picks up. But don’t expect very much – we’re talking about Temple here. It’s just the way it is – this lack of caring about sports is close to unique. And maybe that’s a healthy thing for students instead of this crazy, zealous behavior at other schools – or not. Just more winning instead of mostly losing as it has been for a long, long time, is all I’m asking for. Let’s hope Rhule is moving in that direction – 2015 will tell a lot.
One more thought. By contrast to all the losing before, the Al Golden (and one season of Daz) years, as modest, realistically, as they were, sure were fun – not great but good enough to get the program headed in the right direction. Some improvement on that? Now that’s what I’m talking about! Go Owls.
You are dreaming, but you show heart.
Unfortunately, Football wil be AXED in 2018.
Reality Check.
Unfortunately, Jay, I think you are right. Just do not know what to with this site after 2018 (that’s why I am Matt Rhule’s biggest fan, but I am keeping it 100–as Larry Wilborn says–that I do not believe he possesses the right stuff in the noggin to do it.Sorry, Matt, prove me wrong and keep this website going in 2019. To be a great Temple head coach, you have to have a Mensa IQ of 152 or more and that’s what Pop, Wayne and Bruce had when they were here. Al, not so much. Steve, no. Matt, definitely not.
We are the UAB of 2018, sad to say. No evidence yet to prove otherwise.
Heard today at camp that LB Buddy Brown will longer be with the team. It was cited that a knee injury was the culprit. Also heard that DB Jihaad Pretlow will be transferring out.
true.
Mike, enjoyed your back and forth with one of the over the top Rhule fanatics on the Scout page. I mean now people are trying to say that the 2014 team exceeded expectations because as this person stated (Texasowl) the team was predicted to win only 3 games and Rhule won 6!!!!! Plus can we stop with how the AAC is much closer to the old BE than it is to the MAC, it’s not. Just looking at rankings and I acknowledge all of the issues with those, in 2012 the BE ranked 6, MAC 10 and CUSA 11 in Sagarin. In 2013 the AAC was 10, MAC-East 20, MAC-West 14, CUSA-East 19, CUSA – West 17. So I would say at best the AAC is better than the MAC but nowhere near as strong as the old BE and to keep using that as a “reason” why a 6-6 record is an accomplishment and it is so much tougher for Rhule than for Golden is really becoming a stretch.
Don’t forget that in college football perception is reality (literally the championship of the sport is based on polls and small group of people who don’t have to justify their decisions). The BE was a power conference and enjoyed the benefits of that. The AAC is not a power conference and being the best of the second class does not make you any better than the second class. Before it was BCS invites now it is autonomy. Can a non-P5 school make the playoffs? Theoretically yes, but in reality the only way that could happen is if a non-P5 school could get a few seasons of one or no lose seasons in a row, and in that third or fourth year there were not 4 or more 1 or no lose P5 schools.
the only people who predicted Temple would win three games are knuckleheads who see the word Temple and automatically write in 3 wins. One of the reasons why they do that is the disgraceful–and I’m not exaggerating with that word–first year of Matt Rhule as a head coach, which should have been spent at a place like Kutztown instead of a place like Temple. He was like a kid in his first biology class and we fans were all frogs getting our legs cut off.
Please explain why you think temple might drop football within the next few years. It keeps coming up but without any explanation. I don’t think the stadium (Linc) rental increase can be the reason. And everything else negative is what Temple is used to (being mediocre to bad). If the higher ups want football, they’ll keep football. I don’t know how the money balances out (TV appearances, conference payouts?, some money from home games, etc. vs expenses) but if they’re breaking even more or less they’ll keep football. Actually not going to bowl games would probably help financially because I believe bowl games, except the top ones, cost more than they pay. But I just think Temple wants to play football – if they can “afford” to pay 1.2 mil for the head coach alone, they must be satisfied with the financial situation.
It’s the money. At Vanderbilt, the president of the university said that Lurie wanted 27 and a half million dollars for a five year rental deal. (How he was allowed to have complete control of a facility half built by public money is outrageous but that’s a story for another day). He’s asking 15 mil up front and 2 1/2 mil a year and on top of that he gets the parking and concessions. That’s a ridiculous amount of money to spend for ten to twenty thousand fans per game. On top of that, future football schedules (2017 and thereafter) are really sparse. Other than Rutgers and Maryland, there are no top five conference teams. (Arguably, that could be the case to get three non-conference wins)http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/aac/temple-owls.php
Something’s going on and, frankly, given all the negatives (cost, ambivalence) to continuing the program, it’s just common sense that ending it is a real possibility.
And this is on top of the fact that Temple sports already operates at deficit. The university spends about 7 million a year to fund sports. More costs with little chance of increased revenue will likely be the death of Temple football.
About the only reason I could see Temple keeping football is to keep a seat at the AAC. The AAC should be somewhat more lucrative than other non-P5 conferences (I have no idea by how much), but Temple athletics could be in worse shape if they wind up having to join some other weaker conference for remaining sports.
Playing in a bowl game is, yes, meaningful.
If your goal is viewers sure. I would like to see how many teams lost money going to bowl games and how many team lost money playing in the tourney.
Sports Illustrated documented that most bowl teams lose money going to bowls (basically the organizers are the ones who benefit financially – its a business deal to them). Also very few schools “make” money from their athletics. It used to be considered part of the college experience for both the athletes and the students, an expense not a profit maker. So, in that regard “losing” money is to be expected. The difference today is the high costs and at Temple, not enough outside support and ticket sales plus Mr. Lurie getting greedy. But that’s Temple’s situation I guess and maybe it will do in the football program because football is by far the biggest money hog. But I hope not.
does anyone know if Jennings will play this year?
looks like they (the ncaa) made a new rule effective immediately to end hardship waivers, but give transfers an extra year on the back end. so, in a word, no. More bad Temple luck because this kid would have been by far the best receiver on this team this year.