University to use new property for athletic fields

Shortly after being closed by the School Reform Commission, the former William Penn High School was sold to Temple University for the SRC’s asking price of $15 million. Part of the property, located on N. Broad Street, will be demolished and converted partly into an athletic facility and recreation space.

According to a university statement, the field space will be designated for the soccer and lacrosse teams, a welcome change for the soccer team, which currently travels to the Ambler campus for home games. The remaining space will be used for university intramural and club sports.

The school building itself will remain and be changed into a job-training academy organized by laborer’s union and buying partners the Laborer’s District Council Education and Training/Apprenticeship Fund.

The 4-1 SRC approval of the sale closed any community hope that William Penn would be reopened after being “temporarily” closed in 2009. At the time of closing, then superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman told community members the school would reinvent itself into a career and technical academy for William Penn students in the time of five years.

-E.J. Smith

Television designations and times set for football team

The American Athletic Conference has announced the beginning of the conferences’ television start times and which channel certain games will be aired on during the 2014 season.

The Owls’ game against Houston on October 7 is slated to start at 9 p.m. and aired on ESPNU. Additionally, Temple’s November 7 home game against Memphis will be aired at 7:30 p.m., also on ESPNU.

Against Memphis, the Owls will look to have a similar performance to last year, where they notched their lone conference win in a 41-21 blowout on the road.

The Owls will also play Delaware State on September 20, which will be aired on ESPN3.

In addition to Temple’s televised games, the American boasts six games set to be aired on ABC and/or ESPN including Central Florida’s matchup against conference foe Houston on ESPN and Connecticut’s early September game against non-conference opponent Boise State.

-E.J. Smith

Midfielder Tiernan invited to US National Team Tryout

After a strong sophomore season, Nicole Tiernan has a shot at making the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Tiernan received an invitation, along with 83 other players, to a three-day tryout at Georgetown University from June 13 to 15. Roughly 36 to 40 players will be selected to the squad from there.

The speedy midfielder ranked second on the Owls in scoring, recording 29 goals and four assists in 2014, along with 13 caused turnovers. She was also named to the All-Big East Second Team at the end of the season.

After selections are made, the team will train in preparation for the 2017 Federation of International Lacrosse Women’s World Cup in Surrey, England, where a roster of 18 players will represent the U.S.

“I am so excited for Nicole to have this opportunity,” coach Bonnie Rosen said in a press release. “She is just beginning to realize how great of a lacrosse player she can be and I am thrilled that she will get the chance this weekend to compete against, play with, and learn from the best players in the country.

“I am so proud of Nicole for being willing to go after this dream and I, along with all of her coaches and teammates, wish her the best of luck this weekend,” Rosen added.

The National Team is led by Georgetown head coach Georgetown Ricky Fried, as it looks to go for a third consecutive World Cup title.

This is the first time the team has held tryouts via invite-only.

-Nick Tricome

Temple boathouse lease nearing approval

A little more than five months passed since the crew and rowing teams were set to get the ax this summer along with five additional university varsity sports, the two squads are close to settling into a new home.

The City Planning Commission unanimously approved a February plan to invest $5.5 million for renovations on the East Park Canoe House on Tuesday, and have the Temple crew and rowing teams lease out the site, per an NBC 10 report.

Philadelphia is infusing $2.5 million into the renovation, while Temple trustee and new Philadelphia Inquirer owner Gerry Lenfest donated the remaining $3 million.

February’s unprecedented reversal of the decision to cut the crew and rowing teams turned around a series of trying events for both squads, which included the city’s decision to condemn the Canoe House in 2008 and culminated in December’s initial decision to cut both programs.

Tuesday’s approval brought the process one step closer to finalization, as the plan will go to City Council for final approval.

Temple hosts second annual Harrow Cup

Temple field hockey coach Amanda Janney reflected on last year’s inaugural Harrow Cup as a “great weekend of hockey.”

The 2014 version featured more of the same in what turned out to be a comfortable, sunny weekend at Geasey Field that attracted numerous alumni.

The Mambas, featuring several Temple names, won the post-collegiate tournament and the $10,000 prize to go with it.

Assistant coach and Old Dominion alum Kelly Driscoll captained the Mambas and played in goal, with the team also including Janney, a Wake Forest alum, graduate assistant coach and Ohio State alum Danica Deckard, Alli Lokey (‘08) and newly-dubbed alumni Molly Doyle and Mandi Shearer (‘14).

Other Temple alumni in the tournament included Haley Dervinis for the Titans (’04), Bridget Settles for the Tembos (’12) and Caryn Lambright for the Tomahawks (’12), along with current athletic advisor and University of Iowa alum Sarah Pergine for the Vipers.

Temple hosted the event for the second straight year, with Driscoll and the Mambas posting a repeat performance.

The mission of the Harrow Cup is to promote post-collegiate field hockey and offer an opportunity for alumni to keep playing.

It’s not official if Temple will continue hosting the tournament, but Janney said she certainly hopes so.

-Nick Tricome

Mobley out as head coach

After six years, Eric Mobley announced his resignation as head coach of the track & field program Friday night, effective June 30.

Mobley’s resignation will take effect one day before the men’s indoor and outdoor track teams is slated to be eliminated from the university’s athletic program.

Mobley was hired as head coach of the men’s and women’s programs in 2008, and oversaw consistent progress in the program that included a women’s Athletic 10 Conference Championship in 2010 and numerous NCAA Regional and National individual qualifications.

The announcement comes after a tumultuous 2013-14 campaign for both Mobley and the program. Along with the December cuts, Mobley and assistant athletic director Kristen Foley have been co-defendants in a harassment law suit involving former Temple thrower Ebony Moore since last summer.

Phillies draft Hockenberry

Roughly two weeks after Matt Hockenberry’s final start in a Temple uniform, the Philadelphia Phillies drafted the senior pitcher with the 262nd overall pick in the ninth round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft Friday.

The Hanover, Pa. native enjoyed a breakout season with the Owls in 2014, posting a 3.18 earned run average with 71 strikeouts in 93.1 innings of work despite a 5-6 record.

His ERA shattered his previous personal mark of 5.04, set last year. In his final start for the Owls, none of Houston’s three runs against him were earned as Hockenberry scattered eight hits, punched out six and took the loss in an error-laden 3-0 defeat to the Cougars on May 21.

Upon his selection at No. 262, Hockenberry marked the sixth collegiate pitcher and eighth collegiate player to be taken by the Phillies.

Dunphy, Addazio were top earning Temple employees in 2012-13

According to Temple, men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy and former football coach Steve Addazio were the two highest paid employees at the university during the 2012-13 fiscal year.

With a salary of $1.3 million, Dunphy made slightly more than Addazio, who earned gross earnings of $1.2 million during the fiscal year. Both coaches received huge pay increases from the previous fiscal year in which Dunphy and Addazio earned $659,000 and $612,414, respectively.

Before Addazio’s arrival, former football coach Al Golden took the banner as the highest paid university employee with gross earnings of $898,031 during the 2010-11 fiscal year. Addazio left Temple after the 2012 season for a head coaching position at Boston College, while Golden left after the 2010 season to fill the head coaching post at the University of Miami.

According to a USA Today study, Addazio’s salary, while high for University standards, ranked relatively low in the Big East with coaches earning as much as $2.3 million in 2012-13.

Among disclosed salaries, the Big East average was $1.6 million in coaches’ gross earnings, with Louisville head coach Charlie Strong’s $2.3 million topping the list.

Dunphy’s salary among the Owls’ former conference, the Atlantic 10, was below the disclosed salaries of Virginia Commonwealth’s Shaka Smart and Butler’s Brad Stevens, according to a Lansing State Journal study. Smart and Stevens’ earned $1.3 and $1.1 million, respectively.

-E.J. Smith

American releases two-division format, Temple in East

After a 2013-14 season that showcased four first-round NFL draft picks, the American Athletic Conference looks to follow their inaugural year with more improvements.

Among these improvements will be the two-division format announced Friday by the conference. The new East-West format will comprise of six teams in each division. The winners of their respective division will face off in the first conference championship game for The American.

The change, which was unanimously approved by conference’s chief executive officers, pitted Temple in the East division alongside Central Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina and South Florida.

In addition to conference play, the American has many formidable non-conference games, including the Owls’ season opener against Vanderbilt. In addition, The American will also face South Eastern Conference teams South Carolina and Texas A&M as well as Big 12 schools Missouri, Oklahoma and Baylor.

Temple, which finished the season tied with Memphis at a conference-worst 1-7 American record, will return top offensive performers including dual-threat sophomore quarterback P.J. Walker and senior running back Kenneth Harper.

In addition to the division alignment announcement, Aresco also announced that next year will implement an eighth referee for conference games and a new tiebreak procedure. The tiebreak procedure allows co-champions and rewarding the co-champion ranked highest by the College Football Playoff Committee with the automatic bowl bid for the American.

American announces women’s basketball format

It’s not as big of a change as the one the Owls faced a year ago with their move to a new conference, but the Owls’ second year in the American Athletic Conference will feature a few differences.

The American announced its scheduling model for the next two seasons, along with an 11-team conference championship bracket due to the additions of East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa Universities.

Each team will play an 18-game conference schedule, facing eight of ten opponents twice in home and home action, and another two once each. One of those single conference matchups in 2014-15 is guaranteed to be at home.

The complete schedule for the 2014-15 season won’t be released until August, but Temple will play every team in the conference twice with the exception of East Carolina and Tulsa. Temple will host East Carolina, so the Owls will have to go on the road to play Tulsa.

Temple, as well as the rest of the American teams, will have the same home and home opponents scheduled for the 2015-16 season, while the single-game opponents will switch sites, meaning Temple will travel to East Carolina and then play Tulsa at home after this upcoming season.

All 11 teams will play in the conference tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The tournament will be played March 6-9.

Games between the No. 9 and No. 8 seeds, the No. 10 and No. 7 seeds, and the No. 11 and No. 6 seeds will get things started on the sixth. The winners of each game will then play against the top three seeds, who get automatic byes into the quarterfinal round on Saturday. The No. 5 and No. 4 seeds will also face-off on Saturday.

Temple had a turbulent 2013-14 campaign, finishing 14-16 in the regular season, then bowing out with an early quarterfinal exit in the conference tournament via a 72-44 loss to the No. 3 seeded South Florida.

-Nick Tricome