Temple University Athletics
From The AD's Desk - February 2010
“From the AD’s Desk”
A monthly column from Temple University Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw
February 2010
Each academic year, we watch our student-athletes excel in their respective sports.
In addition to successful competitive seasons, our OWLS are on the PROWL everywhere and it’s “GAME ON!” However, you will not see this competition on the various playing surfaces. It is in the CLASSROOM.
More than 550 Temple student-athletes are battling it out this school year to see which team wins the coveted “Owl Trophy” – presented to the team with the highest grade point average (GPA) at the end of the year. It is a symbol of great pride among our sport programs. The men’s gymnastics team is the reigning champion with an impressive 3.24 GPA. Their goal is simple: REPEAT. However, 21 other programs had something to say about that this past Fall:
*277 student-athletes earned a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher
*12 student-athletes achieved perfect 4.0’s
*16 teams improved their cumulative team GPA from Spring 2009 to Fall 2009
*16 teams improved their Fall semester GPA from 2008 to 2009
*14 teams maintain a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or higher – an all-time high!
* 3 student-athletes graduated in January in just 3 ½ years.
So watch out men’s gymnastics – the message has been sent. This year’s 2009-10 “Owl Trophy” is up for grabs!
Our coaches at Temple truly value the importance of being a student and an athlete. As part of this process, our student-athletes engage in various team and department-wide community service events to help give back to the local community. It is amazing that with their time constraints, our student-athletes still achieve stellar GPAs and perform multiple hours of community service.
This year our student-athletes across all sports came together to raise money for UNICEF. Each team picked up UNICEF boxes provided by the athletics department and were encouraged to go out into the community to Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. We had fantastic participation and our athletic department raised $1,600 for UNICEF! Just a $45 donation provides school supplies for 20 children, meaning that our student-athletes helped to provide school supplies to 700 children.
While preparing for finals in December, our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.) ran their 3rd Annual Toy & Clothing Drive to benefit Women Against Abuse, a local women’s & children shelter. Many teams collected clothing and toys from the list provided by the shelter. All donations were given unwrapped, allowing the mothers’ to shop at the shelter for the items that were best for their children.
We look forward to an exciting spring semester where our student-athletes will continue to excel both in and out of the classroom. Each team is competing against each other for the OWL CUP given to the team that exemplifies and embraces the initiatives of the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills program. The award is “the total package”- student-athletes supporting other student-athletes, excelling in and out of the classroom, attending various CHAMPS/Life Skills workshops (career/personal development), volunteer work, motivating each other and creating pride throughout Temple’s campus. The OWL CUP Champions will be crowned at our annual Breakfast of Champions, to be held April 28. We are excited to see what the future will bring for the spring semester and we look forward to graduation in May, and our student-athletes working on more community service projects, especially our annual Partnership Field Day in April and raising money for Haitian relief efforts.
As always, we are thankful for the broad participation of our alumni, fans and friends. With your continued loyalty, we shall achieve. Go Owls!
Upcoming Events
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.
February 13: Hooter the Owl’s Birthday – Our lovable mascot, Hooter the Owl, turns a year older and wiser today! Celebrate all things Hooter and honor the pride of the Owls with a special basketball doubleheader at the Liacouras Center. Our women face Charlotte at 1 p.m., while the men battle Rhode Island at 4 p.m. The first 2,000 fans under age 14 at the men’s game receive a mini basketball courtesy of the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union. There’s even a photo session with the men’s team following the game! Meet local mascots as well. Purchase tickets online today!
March 5-8: Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Tournament – Head coach Tonya Cardoza and the women’s basketball Owls head to the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. to compete for this season’s conference championship. Game dates and times to be announced depending on seeding. Ticket information available by contacting the Temple ticket office at (215) 204-8499 or by visiting www.OwlsTix.com.
March 12-14: Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Tournament – Fran Dunphy’s Owls aim for their third consecutive conference tournament championship where March Madness begins – Atlantic City. All-session tickets are available now from the Temple ticket office. Your fan and alumni headquarters is Bally’s Atlantic City, offering special Temple room rates and packages as well as hosting our pre-game receptions. More information upcoming as times and seed determined.
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