Temple to Stay in Division I-A -- as an Independent

[Water Pony]

The Temple Owls are in search of a conference. See attached:

PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 20) - Temple's football program will remain at the Division I-A level but will play without a conference next season, the school announced Thursday.

A 12-member task force has been studying the future of Temple football since the summer. It made the recommendation to the chairman of Temple's board of trustees, Howard Gittis.

"There are challenges ahead for Temple football, with the most pressing being a conference affiliation," Gittis said. "We are confident that our football program will be part of a Division I-A conference in the near future."

The Owls will play as an independent next season and are actively seeking conference affiliation. Temple was kicked out of the Big East for failing to meet minimum requirements for membership, most notably in attendance, facilities and fielding a competitive team.

The school could join the mid-major Mid-American Conference, though they played two MAC teams last year and lost big both times, 45-17 at Toledo and 70-16 against Bowling Green.

Temple tallied just 14 conference wins in 14 seasons in the Big East. The Owls went 2-9 last year under coach Bobby Wallace and haven't had a winning record since 1990. They haven't played in a bowl game since 1979.

Temple took steps in the last few years to improve the program. It built a state-of-the-art practice facility that opened in 2001 and reached a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to play all home games at Lincoln Financial Field.

[NavyCrimson]

hey water -

don't u live around that area?

curious - is temple 'really' serious about div 1 football or it merely lip service & a half-$%$# wish?

being mainly a commuter school, i think they have 2 billion-plus graduates but have they really made the effort?

what do u think?

[bubba pony]

I think SMU should play Temple and come up to the Northeast for all the alumni up here to take in a game. Philly has a lot to offer and not far from NYC and Atlantic City where there is gambling. be a good road trip. SMU might even win.

[Water Pony]

hey water -

don't u live around that area?

curious - is temple 'really' serious about div 1 football or it merely lip service & a half-$%$# wish?

being mainly a commuter school, i think they have 2 billion-plus graduates but have they really made the effort?

what do u think?

NC:

I live in the Chicago area, where we are expecting another 6-8" of the white, character building stuff. We are also looking for a heat wave in the 20's. BTW, the Northwestern U. home and home has me excited. Evanston is a great play to watch a Big Ten game and the town is pretty cool.

As for Temple, I think they are looking to join a conference in two years or so. If CUSA, for example, loses East Carolina or Memphis to the Big Least, then Temple and Philadelphia could be an option for us. I don't think playing to a mostly empty Lincoln Field is a plus. It would be similar to us playing in the Cotton Bowl.

They would be smart to do what Tulane is considering and we did and build a more intimated, urban stadium, sized to their crowds.

In any case, CUSA or MAC is better than being Independent for them. Only ND, Army and Navy can actually do better unafilliated.

However, BB is more important to them, so joining a non-eastern conference would be a problem.

[Dooby]

We have an opening in next year's schedule; let's book 'em.

[MustangStealth]

When all of the conference shuffling was going on, I actually thought they would be a better choice than Central Fla. for CUSA. Football attendance is close to the same, but Temple has a better name for bball. I don't know if they would be willing to ditch the A-10 for CUSA though.

[that's great raplh]

I think SMU should play Temple and come up to the Northeast for all the alumni up here to take in a game. Philly has a lot to offer and not far from NYC and Atlantic City where there is gambling. be a good road trip. SMU might even win.

i hear ya!

philly is 2 hours from NYC

and they have great cheese steaks - we can all go to Pat's

[Water Pony]

Sources say Temple will join MAC for football

By MIKE KERN
[email protected]

Temple is poised to become a member of the Mid-American Conference for football, sources say.

A deal has basically been struck, several sources familiar with the situation confirm. Those same people say the announcement will most likely come from the MAC.

The MAC school presidents are scheduled to meet Feb. 7 in Indianapolis. A conference source said any decision on expansion will come from the presidential level. The MAC reportedly also is considering Western Kentucky, which is looking to move up from Division I-AA.

The 2004 season was Temple's last in the Big East. The Owls are scheduled to compete as an independent this year. If they become a member of the MAC, it would be for football only, at least for the time being. And it wouldn't happen until at least 2006, although sources say the Owls would add three MAC opponents this year, to go with the three (Miami of Ohio, Toledo and Bowling Green) they're already playing.

[NavyCrimson]

until temple wises up & goes all-sports instead of football-only, forget it owls!

you're not that good in b-ball anymore or will be anytime soon!

if i remember correctly, that was one of the many reasons 'against' temple when c-usa was considering them for membership.

from their web site:

Temple University, of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education, is a comprehensive public research university with more than 34,000 students. It has a distinguished faculty in 17 schools and colleges, including schools of Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Podiatry, and Dentistry, and a renowned Health Sciences Center. Temple is one of Pennsylvania's three public research universities, along with the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University. Temple University is the 36th largest university in the United States, and it is the third largest provider of professional education (law, dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, and podiatric medicine) in the country. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Temple has five regional campuses, including the flagship Main Campus, Health Sciences Campus, and Center City Campus in Philadelphia; a major suburban campus -- Temple University at Ambler; and a suburban art campus -- Tyler School of Art -- in Elkins Park. The University has an education center in Harrisburg, and international campuses in Tokyo, Japan, and Rome, Italy. Temple also offers educational programs in the People's Republic of China, Israel, Greece, Great Britain, France and other countries throughout the world.
Through its various schools and colleges, Temple University offers degree programs in 2 associate degree areas, 123 bachelor's degree areas, 117 master's degree areas, 51 doctoral degree areas, and 5 first professional degree areas. Dr. Russell H. Conwell founded the institution in 1884, chartered as Temple College in 1888 and incorporated as Temple University in 1907. In 1965, by the Act of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Temple University became a state-related institution in the Commonwealth System of Higher Education.

http://www.temple.edu/about.html

all those students & alums & they still can't get enough interest for their games! unbelievable!

[UConn/SMU]

I pity Temple:

1) They were screwed by the City of Philadelphia in the stadium matter.
2) They get *ZERO* support from the public in metro Philly.
3) Villanova kept them out of the Big East in other sports because Villanova wanted to remain the only Big East school in Philly.
4) And they were kicked out of the Big East due to low attendance and other issues.

Hopefully they'll survive and do okay in the MAC.

[EastStang]

I think Temple was approached when TCU dropped out to try and bolster the eastern flank of CUSA. They were told they would only be accepted all sports. They said "No way". Temple basketball would be a big plus to the conference, but they play A-10 which is hard to give up. UTEP was happy to join all sports with Texas schools. And Central Florida has a nationally televised game next year against the SC Gamecocks, the Spurrier inaugural. I think in the long run for SMU adding UTEP will be better than Temple. UTEP will bring fans to our games which is a big plus. I would have preferred for TCU to stay, but UTEP is for us the better choice than a Philly school.

[NavyCrimson]

i agree -

once the little-e expands again, its adios for the schools in the eastern portion of c-usa anyways!

[SWC2010]

i agree -

once the little-e expands again, its adios for the schools in the eastern portion of c-usa anyways!

Got that right, Navy.
IMO, the move of their offices to TX was the beginning of a movement toward morphing CUSA into a new regional styled SWC.

[Water Pony]

I am still holding out hope that Army and Navy would find a way to have partial afilliation for football (e.g. rotate four games against the Privates in CUSA.

[UConn/SMU]

I follow the Big East. For many reasons, most Big East fans would love to add Army & Navy to the conference (Army is 2 1/2 hours from UConn and only 1 hour from Rutgers).

But Army is in no mood to join a conference after they had such a hard time competing in C-USA. And Navy has stated that they value their independence very highly (for scheduling purposes). Neither school will be joining a conference anytime soon. That's a shame.