Papal visit cancels City 6 Tournament

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The City 6 Tournament was put on hold this season because of  Pope Francis’s visit to Philadelphia Sept. 26-27.

The tournament was held last season at the Class of 1923 Arena at the University of Pennsylvania and featured Temple, Villanova, La Salle, Drexel, St. Josephs and Penn. 

“I feel like that is out of our hands,” junior defenseman Aron Litostanski said. “I would like to play in this tournament, especially with a bunch of these teams. Last year we played Drexel and Villanova and we were doing good and it would be a good early season test to see where we stand.”

Instead of playing in the tournament, the Owls will host Drexel Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. and Villanova Sept. 27 at Hatfield Ice Arena in Colmar, Pennsylvania.

“No offense to the teams that dropped out, but they weren’t the stronger teams,” junior forward Matt Krulikowski said. “The best teams will still be playing. It will be kind of much of the same. We are still getting two strong games on the weekend, so can’t really ask for much more than that.”

Last season at the City 6 Tournament, Temple defeated La Salle 8-0 and Villanova 4-3 in overtime.The Owls were defeated in the championship game by Drexel, 2-1.

Temple was awarded a bye in this year’s contest, but that advantage will have to wait until next year.

“It was just one of those games, but the rest of the weekend was real good,” Krulikowski said. “We took a lot from it. We came together as a team. It wasn’t about ourselves. We’re hoping to do the same thing this weekend. [We want to get] a good jump-start to the season and keep rolling from there. We have Pittsburg the weekend after, so we really have to put it together this weekend and be ready to go for Pittsburg. “

Shutout in preseason

The Owls faced off with Delaware Sept. 18 in their lone preseason game and were shutout 4-0 at Fred Rust Arena.

The Blue Hens tallied two goals in the first period and added two more in the second period. Delaware outshot the Owls for the game 50-25.

“I thought we had a couple good chances to put some pucks in the back of the net, so we are making some adjustments with line combinations, kind of seeing who is going to play good with each other,” head coach Roman Bussetti said. “We made some good adjustments during the game and we got some more ideas from this week at practice going into Friday.”

University announces staff promotions

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The university announced the promotion of seven staff members Tuesday.

Former Director of Football Operations Sean Padden and Lee Roberts, who served as the assistant athletics director, were both promoted to the athletic department’s senior staff.

“My philosophy has always been to reward good people and promote from within whenever possible,” Athletic Director Pat Kraft said in a university-issued statement. “So I am extremely happy to be able to do that with these key individuals.”

Padden has been promoted to associate athletic director/chief of staff, where he will have varsity sport oversight of football and work with Kraft on various projects.

Roberts, the new associate athletics director for facilities and event management, will oversee the maintenance and upkeep of the university’s athletic facilities and game operations of all athletic events.

Denise Fitzpatrick, Bryan Kulp, Quinton Smith, Morgyn Seigfried and Scott Wallace were the other five staff members promoted.

Kerkhoff and Farrell named preseason All-Conference selections

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Seniors Shauni Kerkhoff and Kelly Farrell were named to the preseason All-Conference Team, the American Athletic Conference announced Tuesday.

Kerkhoff, the Owls’ starting goalkeeper, received an additional honor, being named Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.

The Westerville, Ohio native has started 39 straight games in net for Temple over the past two seasons and is the all-time leader in save percentage (.806) and shutouts (17). Last season, Kerkhoff recorded 79 saves to go with six shutouts, while allowing just 1.13 goals per game. She was named to The American’s All-Conference second team for her efforts in 2014.

Farrell, a midfielder, led the Owls in goals with nine and added two assists for a team-high 20 points last season. She has started in 32 of 39 games with Temple since transferring from Old Dominion after her freshman season. The Sicklerville, N.J. native was also a second All-American Athletic conference selection in 2014.

Temple, which finished 11-8-1 overall and 3-5-1 in conference play last season, was picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams in The American’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

Anderson ruled eligible to play

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Robby Anderson has been ruled eligible to play this season.

The wide receiver successfully completed his summer classes at the university and will be listed as a redshirt senior.

Anderson re-enrolled at the university in June after being dismissed for academic reasons in 2013.

As a redshirt sophomore, Anderson caught 44 passes for 791 and nine touchdowns.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native, who began his career at Temple in 2011 as a defensive back, redshirted his first year on campus and was later converted to wide receiver during his sophomore year. The 6-foot-3 inch receiver averaged 79 yards receiving per game and totaled 1,037 all-purpose yards in 2013.

Anderson is the second Owl to receive a waiver this month. Wide receiver Adonis Jennings successfully petitioned the NCAA for a waiver and was ruled eligible on July 29.

Jennings cleared to play

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Wide receiver Adonis Jennings has been cleared to play for Temple this season, a university spokesperson confirmed this afternoon.

The news was first reported by Owlscoop.com earlier today.

Jennings, who was a four-star recruit and the 38th best wide receiver in the 2014 class according to Rivals.com, transferred to Temple in March from the University of Pittsburgh.

He was trying to receive a hardship waiver from the NCAA in order to play this season.

Last season with the Panthers, Jennings saw action in six games, catching six passes for 55 yards.

In his senior year at Timber Creek High School in 2014, the Sicklerville, New Jersey native caught 64 passes for 1,153 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Jennings is the second wideout added for the Owls this offseason. Last month, Robby Anderson rejoined the team after being dismissed from the university due to academic reasons.

Anderson tallied 791 yards and nine touchdowns for Temple in 2013.

Owls announce non-conference schedule

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On Thursday, the men’s basketball team announced its non-conference schedule for the upcoming season.

Temple, who finished 22-9 last season, will begin non-conference play on Nov. 13 with a trip to Annapolis, Maryland for the Veterans Classic held at the United States Naval Academy. There, the Owls will face the University of North Carolina, who returns its top four scorers from last year’s team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Six days later, the Owls will travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which takes place on Nov. 19, 20 and 22.

In Puerto Rico, Temple will be joined by Butler University, the University of Miami, the University of Minnesota, Mississippi State University, Missouri State University, Texas Tech University and the University of Utah.

Up next, Temple will host Fairleigh Dickinson University and the University of Delaware on Nov. 29 and Dec. 2, respectively.

After the two-game home stand, the Owls will travel to Madison, Wisconsin on Dec. 5 to face the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who appeared in two straight Final Fours and is returning two of its top four scorers.

The Owls will finish the month of December off with a trip to the University of Pennsylvania on Dec. 9 and back-to-back home games against St. Joseph’s University on Dec. 13 and Delaware State University on Dec. 19.

The Owls will open the new calendar year on Jan. 20 with a trip to The Palestra to face Big 5 rival La Salle University. The team will finish its non-conference play with a home game against Big 5 rival and defending Big East conference champion, Villanova University on Feb. 17.

Ex-Owls to compete in $1-million basketball tournament

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A number of former Owls will take the floor together once again this Friday at Philadelphia University.

Playing as the North Broad Street Bullies, Temple alumni Khalif Wyatt, Dalton Pepper, Rhalir Hollis-Jefferson, Ramone Moore, T.J. DiLeo and Jacob Godino as well as a handful of other former college players will compete in the first round of The Basketball Tournament.

The Basketball Tournament, is a nation-wide, free-entry, single-elimination tournament. Rosters are composed of all kinds of players including a few ex-NBA talents. The winner of the tournament will take home a $1 million prize.

In their first round match-up of the tournament’s Northeast Regional, the North Broad Street Bullies will take on Friar Nation, a team composed of former players from St. Anthony High School in New Jersey.

The Northeast Regional takes place at Philadelphia University from Friday to Sunday. If the North Broad Street Bullies can win three games they will advance to the Super 17 in Chicago on July 23.

Last season the North Broad Street Bullies advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

 

Owls to play in Big 5 doubleheader

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For the first time since 2004, the Palestra will host a Philadelphia Big 5 doubleheader. On Jan. 20, 2016, Temple will take on La Salle in the first game of the day followed by a match-up between Penn and St. Joseph’s to honor The Big 5’s 60th anniversary.

“The Athletics Directors wanted to do something very special to celebrate this unique achievement,” said Steve Bilsky, Executive Director of The Big 5, in a university-issued statement. “We thought nothing would capture its history better than a competition to be held in the famed Cathedral of Basketball. The fact that we were able to pull it off in a very challenging college basketball scheduling environment is a credit to the AD’s, coaches, and conference commissioners, all of whom displayed tremendous perseverance and flexibility.”

Temple, La Salle, Penn, St. Joseph’s and Villanova have been squaring off against each other every year since the mid 1950’s.

The Owls defeated Villanova 53-52 the last time a Big 5 doubleheader took place in 2004.

Coach Fran Dunphy has taken part in the rivalry both with the Owls and as the coach at Penn.

“The Big 5 is a special part of the fabric of Philadelphia sports,” Dunphy said in a university-issued statement. “It is held in high regard nationally, and is treasured by Philadelphia college basketball fans locally. We are happy to be taking part in this true Big 5 doubleheader to honor its 60 years of existence.”

The annual match-up between the Owls and the Explorers will take place in the Palestra for the third consecutive season. Temple won last year’s match-up by a score of 58-57.

Foley leaves for Lafayette

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Kristen Foley has been named an assistant coach for the Lafayette College women’s basketball team.

Foley, the former Senior Associate Athletic Director who supervised women’s basketball, crew, rowing and women’s volleyball, is being sued — alongside the university and former track & field coach Eric Mobley — by former athlete, Ebony Moore for $10 million in damages on charges of harassment, sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination.

Moore, competed as a discuss thrower for the women’s track and field team from 2009-2011. During her time with the Owls she claims she was subject to bullying, sexual harassment and neglect which led to a near suicide attempt. These issues were ignored by the administration when Moore brought them to Foley.

A 2014 investigation by The Temple News into the university’s men’s and women’s track & field teams found that Mobley, who coached men’s and women’s track & field until his resignation in June 2014, was accused of verbal abuse, intimidation and dereliction of his coaching duties.

The report also found that Foley was informed of student complaints on multiple occasions, but Mobley remained in his position until June 2014.

Before the allegations, Foley, who coached the women’s basketball team from 1995 to 2000, oversaw the track & field team. But on July 1, 2014, she was removed from the role and was replaced by Senior Associate Athletic Director Joe Giunta as the department’s track & field administrator.

Foley will coach at Lafayette alongside coach Theresa Grentz, who she played for at Rutgers University while leading the Lady Knights to consecutive NCAA Elite Eight appearances in 1986 and 1987.

Following her playing career, Foley was an assistant coach at Rutgers under Grentz for three years.

Jesse Morgan invited to Utah Jazz summer league

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Jesse Morgan will play for the Utah Jazz in the the Utah Jazz Summer League.

The former Owls’ guard averaged 11.9 points per game last season and knocked down a team-high 68 3-pointers.

The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native sat out the 2013-2014 season due to NCAA transfer rules after transferring from the University of Massachusetts.

Morgan played his first game as an Owl on Dec. 18, 2014 against the University of Delaware, scoring 16 points on 6 of 16 shooting, including 4 of 8 on three-point field goals.

Morgan played high school basketball at Olney High School in Philadelphia and was a first team All-City selection.

The league, which runs from July 6 to 9, will include summer league teams from the San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.

Morgan joins his former teammate, Will Cummings — who agreed to terms on a free agent contract with the Houston Rockets on June 26 — in the pursuit of making an NBA roster. The Rockets will be participating in the Las Vegas Summer league, which begins on July 10.