Grabbing Your A10tion

Temple Owls

Location: Philadelphia, Pa.
Founded: 1884
Enrollment: 34,000
Nickname: Owls
Colors: Cherry and White
President: Dr. David Adamany
Director of Athletics: Bill Bradshaw
Joined the A-10: 1983
Driving distance from Charlotte: 539 miles
Website: www.owlsports.com
Sports in which the 49ers and Owls will compete: Baseball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Men’s Golf, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, Softball, Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis, Men’s Track and Field; Women’s Track and Field, Volleyball
Other Sports: Field Hockey, Women’s Lacrosse, Women’s Rowing
Recent League Tournament Titles: Women’s basketball (2005; 2004; 2002); Men’s basketball (2001; 2000); Baseball (2001); Softball (2004); Women’s Tennis (2003); Volleyball (2002)
Recent NCAA appearances: Men’s Basketball (2001; 2000); Women’s Basketball (2005; 2004; 2002); Baseball (2001); Women’s Tennis (2003); Volleyball (2002)

1.) One Wise Owl; One Win Shy of 500 ... Legendary Coach John Chaney is now known as Hall of Fame Coach John Chaney. The 2005-06 season will mark the 24th season that Chaney has patrolled the sidelines at Temple and his 34th overall. Chaney’s election to the Hall of Fame makes Temple one of just nine schools to have two or more coaches in the Hall of Fame. The late Harry Litwack coached the Owls for 21 years and was inducted in 1975. During his tenure at Temple, Chaney has guided the Owls to a record of 499-238, (.677). His teams have made 17 NCAA tournament appearances in 23 years and posted a record of 23-17. Chaney’s teams have won six conference titles and boast a conference record of 286-92 (.757). Prior to coaching at Temple, Chaney coached at Division II Cheyney State College compiling a record of 225-59 (.792) and a national championship in 1978.

2.) Among the All-Time Winningest... Temple is the nation’s seventh winningest collegiate basketball program with 1,639 wins, following Kentucky (1904), North Carolina (1860), Kansas (1848), Duke (1764), St. John’s (1677) and Syracuse (1657) have more all-time wins.

3.) The Dawn of a new day... Former Charlotte Sting point guard Dawn Staley (recently traded to the Houston Comets) is head coach of the Temple women’s basketball team during the WNBA off-season. In three of the last four years, the Owls have been crowned A-10 champions and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including back-to-back trips in 2004 and 2005. Staley, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, carried the American Flag into Athens for the 2004 Olympic Games. She was named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 1996 and 2004, is a four-time WNBA All-Star and a two-time ABL All-Star.

4.) Give a hoot... Temple was first school in the country to adopt the owl as its symbol. Legend has it that the owl, a nocturnal hunter, was adopted as a symbol because Temple University began as a night school for ambitious young people of limited means. Now there are a dozen four-year colleges and seven two-year colleges that use the owl as their mascot. Charlotte College, which would become UNC Charlotte, used the Owls nickname as well when it was primarily a night school.

5.) A National Championship... Temple won the initial National Invitational Tournament, which was the first National Collegiate Championship in 1938. The team was 32-2 and beat Colorado 60-36 in the championship game. Because the NCAA Tournament was not held until the following year, Temple’s NIT Championship earned the Owls national title recognition.

6.) The Cos... Famous comedian Bill Cosby is the most recognizable alum of Temple University. Cosby was a scholarship football player for the Owls and ran track and field during his collegiate career. Cosby started his career performing stand-up in nightclubs and concert halls, but most of us know him for his movies and TV shows. Over the years Cosby has donated his time and money to many civic organizations and universities. Today, Cosby is estimated to be worth $325 million by Forbes. He earned his graduate degree from A-10 rival UMass.

7.) Pop Warner Football... Under the legendary Glenn S. “Pop” Warner, the Temple football program of the 1930s regularly scheduled games against the perennial heavyweights of the day. The Owls were playing teams such as Army, Florida, Iowa, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Penn State, SMU, Tennessee and Texas A&M, and winning with regularity. Between 1933 and 1938, Warner directed the Owls to 31 victories, and his 1934 team had the distinction of playing in the very first Sugar Bowl game in New Orleans. In 1979, the Owls posted their first and only bowl win with a 28-17 victory over California in the Garden State Bowl at the Meadowlands.

8.) The grass is always green... Temple University’s main campus is home to one of the world’s largest permanent Astroturf surfaces. The field covers 156,000 square feet.

9.) Avenue of the Arts... is an independent non-profit organization, created in 1993 to coordinate and support cultural and related development along North and South Broad Street in Philadelphia. Rock Hall and The Liacouras Center are located on Temple’s main campus and serve as major resources for the Avenue of the Arts on North Broad Street. The Liacouras Center, formerly the Apollo of Temple, is home to the Owls’ basketball teams as well as the Ester Boyer Theatre. The facility seats 11,000 for convocations, commencements and concerts; 10,206 for basketball games; 9,000 for indoor soccer; 8,000 for tennis matches; and up to 3,500 for theater and dance.

10.) Acres of Diamonds... Dr. Russell H. Conwell founded the institution in 1884, chartered as Temple College in 1888 and incorporated as Temple University in 1907. In 1884 Temple started as a study with a few young men who were interested in preparing for the Christian ministry, four years later the group swelled from seven to several hundred and Temple College was formed. Conwell was then elected president and held the position for 38 years. While at Temple he also became “America’s foremost platform orator” by giving his lecture, “Acres of Diamonds.” Conwell gave the lecture more than 6,000 times and it has been seen and heard by millions.

11.) Fairmount Park... is the largest city landscaped park in the U.S (4,180 acres). The park is popular for walks, bicycling, rollerblading, or just a drive along Kelly and West River Drives. During your visit to the park you may even forget you are in one of the largest cities in America. “Fairmount contains several million trees; the oldest zoo in the U.S.; Boathouse Row; cherry blossoms to rival those along D.C.’s Potomac Basin; Robin Hood Dell, an outdoor venue for soul-filled summer singers; the Mann Music Center, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s (and others’) summer amphitheater; picnic areas; tennis courts; miles of bicycle paths; bridle paths; an azalea garden; hundreds of statues and monuments; and two dozen or so 18th- and 19th-century buildings, which comprise an unusual historical patrimony” (http://www.ushistory.org/districts/fairmountpark/welco.htm).