Temple Program???

They've changed coaches several times in the past few years. Years ago it was a strong program. It's not anymore. The campus is right in the ghetto (N Broad St). The baseball field is fifteen miles away in the suburbs. Temple has been in the A10. The Big East was going to be a significant step up and challenging. I don't know who is in the AAC.

I guess we'll have to see how they compete in 2014 in the new AAC,  One thing is for sure, their conference is spread out across two-thirds of the US (CT to South Florida to TX).  It is an amalgamation of schools that don't make much sense to me.  Based on 2013 results and the history of their conference foes, I wouldn't expect them to compete for the top spots.

 

Coach Wheeler will be in his third year at Temple, and he is a genuinely nice guy (at least we thought so).  He had recruited son at Richmond.  He has a different set of challenges at Temple than he had at Richmond, and it doesn't look like he has been able to turn that program around yet.  Almost $30K in-state for all expenses (almost $40K for out-of-state all expense) may be part of the problem.   It remains to be seen where Wheeler and Temple will find their talent & recruits with AAC members UConn and Rutgers in their back yard.

Thanks.  I knew that it was in bad part of town.  Didnt know that ball field was 15 miles away.  That is gotta make things tough for players getting there and back.  Met their Asst. Coach at a camp.  He was a real dynamic guy. Looks like new conference will be tough too, plus lots of travel.

Do they have decent indoor facilities, ie. batting cages, pitching tunnels, weight room, club house?  If they do are they on main campus or at the field 15 miles away?

Thanks

Having played for Ryan Wheeler & remained very good friends I can honestly say that I would play for him no matter the school or facilities.  He is a great baseball guy and a better person.

 

That being said, I'd keep an eye out for some more support from the Athletic Dept for the baseball team coming down the pipeline.  This isn't the place for me to post speculations.  Just keep an eye out moving forward.

 

As far as the part of town goes I don't have a lot of experience. But last January I caught up with 2 old college buddies that live a few blocks from Temple and spent an evening walking the streets from restaurant to restaurant.  What I noticed was 2 things… some very cool brand new pubs/restaurants/bars that attracted young professionals way hipper than me & some square city blocks that were abandoned.  My thoughts were that those abandoned areas looked like future lofts & condos which has been the trend in downtown Richmond.  I felt safe & had a really good time.

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

My son visited the campus and spoke with Coach Wheeler and his recruiting coordinator who spotted him in East Cobb. He had great things to say about the coaches and indoor facilities. They may not be top in their conference but sounds like they are setting up the program to compete and improve. Mentioned outdoor facilities improvements on the horizon as well.  Son passed on the offer but because the school, not baseball, wasn't a good fit.

Thanks PIS and Rally Cap.  Great info.  nice to hear that they are moving in the wright direction.   It's a school we have on the radar.

Hello all! 

 

I am a first time poster on here but have been reading the posts on here for a decent amount of time. That being said I thought I'd like to contribute a little to this discussion and post a link to their new field for AAC games this spring.

 

http://www.owlsports.com/news/...7/BB_1107132707.aspx

 

Thanks! 

Hey Thanks DRH2 for the update.  That is great news for the program.  I wonder if the new conference has field requirements and their reg. field didn't meet them?  What ever the reason it is a nice step up for the team and players.

If the AAC has a seating requirement the Ambler field wouldn't meet it. If it has a facilities requirement (bathrooms, concessions) the Ambler field wouldn't meet it. I'm not sure what the locker room facilities are in Ambler. There's something a short walk from the field.

I don't think it's an AAC requirement. Piggybacking on what PIS said, I think the athletic department is trying to fund non revenue sports at Temple more, (specifically the major men's sports: FB, Basketball, Baseball). Their new AD (just named from interim) was even quoted as saying that funding for non-revenue sports must increase and he also served as Indiana's sport administrator for football, baseball and women's basketball and helped create the funding for their new baseball facilities. So I believe PIS was correct in saying this may be just the start for more funding.

In addition, I think this is the beginning of something at Temple baseball. I also happen to know Coach Wheeler and another coach on his staff and they are exceptional baseball people but also great people. With Cambell's Field they will be able to attract much better recruits, increase attendance, and also show the AAC they are committed to developing the big three in major men's sports from a financial and facility standpoint. If you walk around Temple's main campus you will see that a lot of things are being built, and even more is on the way (they just offered to buy a large high school near campus, which some speculate may be an on campus stadium + dorms)

Hope this helped the OP.

Take care.

How about that!

 

Now you have a 1st rate stadium to go along with a good schedule, a school in a great city, coached by a great baseball guy and great all around person.

 

Look for Temple to be in the conversation with some kids that they may not have had a shot at 5 years ago.

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

Temple Drops Baseball O My!

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/s...aseball__rowing.html

 

Temple dropping baseball isn't shocking. The facilities were an hour from campus. That they dropped crew is shocking.

Temple is under the delusion they can compete with Penn State in football. They play in front of 15,000 fans in 65,000 seat Lincoln Financial Field. They should have dropped football and kept the other sports.

I feel so bad for the kids that have committed to the Temple program. How disappointing for them with all that goes into the recruiting process. Best if luck to them all!

What about a kid who had eligibility remaining due to an injury and chose Temple for grad school? He's in no position to transfer. That's a screwing.

Good idea. Drop the ONE sport that has even the slightest chance of making a dime...

 

It's unfortunate, but it's a reality these days. Schools don't have much choice.

The article says the cuts goes into effect june 2014, so RJM I think that Grad student will get a chance to play this spring?

Its still a lame duck, low morale situation. You know who I'm talking about, don't you? 

Temple football has no chance of making money. The only time they haven't been a two win team was during the Al Golden years. Even when they were going to bowl games they were drawing 15,000 to games. When they played Penn State there were 50,000 Penn State fans at a Temple home game.

Yes, but they make more money per game than sports like baseball and softball do. Do the big schools pay out six figure money to play schools in baseball?

College Baseball would never compete with football and financially it's a good move for Temple.  It's a D1 program is lost but look at 'Cuse no baseball program there.  It's not just a black and white thing, remember Title IX plays a huge role in the decision process.  And unfortunately at Temple Baseball was the low man on the totem poll.   I hope these players can find a place to transfer to.

Read the Deadspin article in the other thread. Temple football loses a lot of money. They rent an NFL stadium and get 15k in attendance. They went BCS when they were losing money as a 1AA. Now they want to build their own major stadium.

Its still a lame duck, low morale situation. You know who I'm talking about, don't you? 

 

 

Rjm. Yes I know and what a tough break he has had many tough breaks in his college career!

And you chose not to answer my question. That's telling.

Unfortunately, those six figure payouts at many places seem to be similar to placing  your trust fund in the hands of your crack-addicted cousin for safekeeping.

Revenue in is irrelevant if expenses out are exorbitant. That's basic accounting. You don't make money renting an NFL stadium and drawing 15k per game. You dont draw quality recruits with terrible training facilities. Until my youngest went to college I lived in the Philadelphia area for eighteen years. I'm very familar with the failures of the Temple football program. The situation was so bad at one point they were tossed out of the Big East. It's always been a football program with Ripple money and champagne dreams. They still believe they're going to become another Penn State like football program after decades of failure.

 

Football making money is a common misconception. Only a few of the top programs make money. Programs like temple don't. Yes they can bring in a lot of money but the sport cost a whole lot of money. The problem is unless your a top 25 program your not making enough to cover the expense of trying to be a top 25 program.

Sounds just like how the Towson news was announced....no consideration to the STUDENT-athletes!!!!

 

http://temple-news.com/sports/...es-student-athletes/

Temple football loses 7M of the 10M the Temple athletic department loses each year. Its not a school spirit school. It has a commuter school mentality. Their very competitive, and often ranked basketball team doesn't sell out its games at a 10,000 seat on campus arena.

I must have missed where you told us about the big crowds at baseball and softball games?

.. .and I think you also missed where the administration stated that they intend to increase the number of home football games next year 29 in order to make it up and volume.........

Ranked Temple basketball teams rarely sell out. The school has a small fan base for every sport. So to pump millions into a football program on the pipe dream it's going to become a powerhouse and fund all the other sports is ridiculous. If you lived in the area you would understand how absurd is this idea. Temple students aren't interested. Temple isn't going to pick up fans from the area who aren't affiliated with Temple. Philadelphia is a pro football town. From a college and high school standpoint it's a basketball town.

Just received a camp invite from a small school saying the Temple coach would be there!

 

"Coaches that are scheduled to make appearances at our camps this year are from XXX University (Div I), Temple University (Div I),..."

 

My son saw one of their Assistant Coaches at a camp 2 weeks ago.

 

I'm not sure why anyone would walk into a bad situation. But the Temple coach expressed concern after transfers he may not have enough players to fill out a roster this spring. Players are leaving already. Maybe the flyer was created before the announcement.