Take action or not

I wanted to give major credit to Temple for a conversation I had this evening. I sent what would be considered a “strongly worded email” to the Temple Athletics distro a few days ago and, much to my surprise, received a call from Arthur Johnson tonight. We talked for 30 minutes about my concerns with the direction of our programs, NIL, and the landscape of athletics. Never thought my email would result in a conversation with the AD, but deeply appreciate the fact my concerns were taken seriously enough to broker a live discussion. Arthur addressed each of my concerns respectfully and exhaustively. I am on mobile right now but will expand where I can on our conversation tomorrow. The net is they know we need to win and take that objective seriously.

Not the way I expected my airing of grievances to unfold, but here we are. Fans like the ones that post here are the lifeblood of this university. Use your voice.

WALKER LEADS CLEVELAND TO UPSET OF 49ers

Please see below. This has been emailed to the secretary at Temple. There are a few of us attending. If more can attend, please do. We need as many people as possible. Thank you:



Below are the concerns we want addressed from the BOT.





No transparency from the BOT. Even Mitchell Morgan admitted as much in the Philadelphia Magazine piece a few weeks ago. Some examples.





No public access. Other than questions that can be submitted to email of the secretary (which at the public meetings, the inbox is not even on the agenda), there is opportunity for public comment and questions. None. Penn State has public access public meetings. So does the University of Pittsburgh. We are the stakeholders. As such, not only is it permissible to question the leaders of our public university, it is a requirement.





No agendas published for the public meeting. There has not been agendas published for at least the last four public meetings. Penn State published ten days prior. Pitt, at least two days. Most time, more than two days.





Minutes published at a considerate delay. Minutes from the last meeting need to be approved at the next meeting. They should be published, subsequently. Many times, they are not.





No public notice on how Trustees are nominated, or even invited to board.





No voting by alumni on Trustee positions.





No engagement with Alumni. Not in public. Not in private.





The link below is the 1965 Commonwealth Act as it pertains to Temple University.





https://secretary.temple.edu/sites/secretary/files/policies/01.31.00.pdf





The words “transparency” and “public access” are nowhere to be found. However, there is nothing in this language that prohibits any level of transparency. Again, for a public university.





The inability of the Board to control the narrative. Some examples:





Where is the plan to get a head of negative news and actions at Temple?





Where is the community engagement on University goals and visions?





Where is the promotion of all that is positive at Temple?





Temple is an Ri Institution? Were that promotion of that fact alone.





Why is not Temple a member of the AAU? Is it a goal of the BOT to apply for membership? If not, why?





There are roughly 350,000 alumni in the Delaware Valley alone. The majority of whom have never even been contacted by Temple. Some going back over 50 years. What is the Board’s plan to deal with this critical fact? If no plan exists, why not?





The inability to this board to choose a President that winds up being beneficial to the university. It seems every President hired has battled the Board nearly from the start. How accurate is that statement? I don’t know because this Board is not transparent at all.





The inability of the board to get out in front of negative news and happenings. These are the moments that cry out for leadership. And no leadership has emanated from this Board. At least that, we, the alumni, can see.





Why is the relationship with the city of Philadelphia so adversarial? So poisonous? Where is the plan to repair this vital relationship? If no plans exists, why not?





The Trustees are genuine and accomplished people. But lets not lose site of the critical fact that 24 of out the 36 positions on the board are voluntary. That means 24 people chose to be of service. And that is how, we alumni, view this Board. They joined to be of service. Hence, they report to and are accountable to us, the alumni. They are here for us, not, we, for them, If that is not the case, then that is the root of the problem.








We now turn to Athletics. Lets remove the emotion and focus on the numbers:





Less the. 2000 members of the Owl Club (our next conference mate has 5000 members)





Less than $2,000,000.00 raised for athletics in the FY 2022. (Our next conference mate has raised $8,000,000.00)





Athletics currently $90,000,000 in debt.





Athletics subsidized by the university at 95 percent.





No stability in development. Plus, we have a head of Institutional Advancement that is openly hostile to athletics and, in particular, NIL.





NIL is a the reality. None of us like it. But we can’t survive with out. Why is not the Board engaged with the NIL? Why is not one of them leading the initiative? Again, why such hostility to a vital component?





The athletic department does not have enough staff to be run efficiently. More the than 10 people left athletics last summer. And the majority of those positions have not been replaced. And the majority of those positions are revenue generating. Morale is at an all time low in the department. The question is, who should Temple have any less than any other Division I institution.





We are woefully behind on fund raising and NIL. So behind, we can’t see the institution in front of us,.





No plan articulated regarding facilities.





No plan articulated regarding conference realignment





These numbers can not be refuted. If these numbers remain the same, there will no athletics in five years. If this were a business, it would have been shut down years ago.





So again, we ask, what is the Board’s plan to ensure the survival of athletics at Temple? What is it? We don’t have time to waste. The house is on fire. You may disagree with our rhetoric, but the numbers can’t be refuted.





We are in big trouble. We need help. And this Board is the only organization that can stop this from happening.





They can stop it by investing in athletics the same as most Division I institutions. That means personal investments. If they invest wisely, they will get a return on investment.





This department needs real support. So we ask, we beg, the Board, do not let athletics die. Give the people in athletics the tools do to do their job. And then, let them do their job. And allow alumni to fill in the gaps so that we all, as a university, as a community, build this department, this university, the way it should be constructed. Let us ensure that Temple University is set up for success, not failure.





Lastly, there is no public access or space on the agenda for us to to be heard. We will make our voice known. And will share what our experience is at the meeting today.





But know this, we will be respectful. We are all Temple Owls.. We are not enemies. We are brothers and sisters that are trying to solve formidable obstacles.





We would rather be anywhere else than doing this. It truly breaks my heart,. This has been a full time job for the past six months. We are tired. We are weary. But we have angels helping us. Angles like Jim Maloney, Ed Freeman, John Chaney, Joanne Epps, Merv Jones, Skip Wilson. It is for them, that I soldier on.





We look forward to continued sharing of experiences of wisdom, truth and virtue that build our Temple great.

EJ not warming up in Texas? Anybody know about WRs, LBs or any others missing?

And this may be the worst Temple football team in that entire timeframe.

First, the bad news,

There was absolutely no public access. Not on the agenda. And not anytime during the 20 minute meeting. Not unexpected, however.

It became apparent, however, that speaking in front of the entire board may not have been the best arena to air our concerns and ask our questions

Now the good news.

The only avenue to raise concerns and ask questions to the board was to email the board secretary. An hour after I sent that email, the secretary of the board, Michael Gebhardt, responded. He was impressed with our articulate and accurate concerns and questions. He suggested we meet after the meeting.

And meet with him we did. Tannanhauser, myself and Michael met in front of Saxby's on Park Mall for 3.5 hours. A lot was discussed. It was apparent that no one have ever attempted to engage the Board with an accurate list of concerns and questions.

And because of those conversations, we have a way forward..

Michael suggested we create a team of 15-20 like minded alumni. If we can create such a group (and we will), Michael with present a proposal to board chair, Michell Morgan, for an audience with selected Trustees, Michael is confident that Chairman Morgan will enthusiastically approve.

What this means is that, possible for the first time in Temple's history, a cadre of concerned alumni with have an audience with members of the Board of Trustees.

We are looking to have this meeting within the next three weeks,. As all of you know, we lack the luxury of time. We need action right now. We would like to have the list of alumni by next Wednesday, October 18, 2023.

There are some ground rules for participation

First, no employees of Temple University. For obvious reasons..

Second, you must be an investor in Temple. Which means monetary donations to the Owl Club, Tuff Fund, General Alumni Association and/or individual school's alumni associations. And participation on various alumni boards or other Temple related associations. In other words, an investment of time.

Basically, You must have skin in the game.

Lastly, when we meet with the Board, we must be act as one unit. Of course, there are concerns and questions will have different priorities with each person. But we will present as one group, one unit..

We are looking for alumni from the entire university. And that alum does not have to be all about athletics. As you all have read the concerns and question, you know that two out off three sections, were not about athletics.

We have close to 10 alums already.

If any of you would like to join, please do not hesitate to contact me at:

davidjgoldberg@icloud.com
215-450-4955

One last point, the proposed audience with the Board of one of several paths we are taking to engage with them. We are not "putting all of our eggs" in this particular basket.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge to following people:

Michael Gebhardt. For his time. For his listening. For his constructive responses. And for providing a way forward.

Tannhauser, I hope I spelled that right. He was with me from the BOT public meeting and the subsequent meeting with Michael. His presence and his insight were beyond helpful. This does not get done without him.

Andy Carl. For the TUFF Fund. For his rolodex. For his assistance with every step in this process.

With the Powerball jackpot over $2B, I wonder if one of us won the prize, we'd give enough of it to Temple to hire a great coach, pay our players a decent NIL and build a stadium. Perchance to dream.

Good morning, everyone. If you'd like to drop in your mailbag questions by 3 p.m. today, we'll get to as many as we can on the show. The men's and women's season openers are less than a month away.

Thanks as always for listening!

We'll talk about Saturday's game at North Texas and anything else that's on your mind on this week's podcast. Drop in your mailbag questions by 3 p.m. today, and we'll get to as many as we can on the show. T
Thanks as always for listening!

Warner’s first quarter stats are eye popping. 8-11, 101 yds, 2 TDs

Officials:

Dillon Battie
Son of Derrick Battie

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Izaiah Pasha


A tentative list of local unofficial visitors as well..... Matt Gilholl, Kai Shinnholster, KJ Cochran, Devin Booker

Below are the concerns we want addressed from the BOT.



No transparency from the BOT. Even Mitchell Morgan admitted as much in the Philadelphia Magazine piece a few weeks ago. Some examples.



No public access. Other than questions that can be submitted to email of the secretary (which at the public meetings, the inbox is not even on the agenda), there is opportunity for public comment and questions. None. Penn State has public access public meetings. So does the University of Pittsburgh. We are the stakeholders. As such, not only is it permissible to question the leaders of our public university, it is a requirement.



No agendas published for the public meeting. There has not been agendas published for at least the last four public meetings. Penn State published ten days prior. Pitt, at least two days. Most time, more than two days.



Minutes published at a considerate delay. Minutes from the last meeting need to be approved at the next meeting. They should be published, subsequently. Many times, they are not.



No public notice on how Trustees are nominated, or even invited to board.



No voting by alumni on Trustee positions.



No engagement with Alumni. Not in public. Not in private.



The link below is the 1965 Commonwealth Act as it pertains to Temple University.



https://secretary.temple.edu/sites/secretary/files/policies/01.31.00.pdf



The words “transparency” and “public access” are nowhere to be found. However, there is nothing in this language that prohibits any level of transparency. Again, for a public university.



The inability of the Board to control the narrative. Some examples:



Where is the plan to get a head of negative news and actions at Temple?



Where is the community engagement on University goals and visions?



Where is the promotion of all that is positive at Temple?



Temple is an Ri Institution? Were that promotion of that fact alone.



Why is not Temple a member of the AAU? Is it a goal of the BOT to apply for membership? If not, why?



There are roughly 350,000 alumni in the Delaware Valley alone. The majority of whom have never even been contacted by Temple. Some going back over 50 years. What is the Board’s plan to deal with this critical fact? If no plan exists, why not?



The inability to this board to choose a President that winds up being beneficial to the university. It seems every President hired has battled the Board nearly from the start. How accurate is that statement? I don’t know because this Board is not transparent at all.



The inability of the board to get out in front of negative news and happenings. These are the moments that cry out for leadership. And no leadership has emanated from this Board. At least that, we, the alumni, can see.



Why is the relationship with the city of Philadelphia so adversarial? So poisonous? Where is the plan to repair this vital relationship? If no plans exists, why not?



The Trustees are genuine and accomplished people. But lets not lose site of the critical fact that 24 of out the 36 positions on the board are voluntary. That means 24 people chose to be of service. And that is how, we alumni, view this Board. They joined to be of service. Hence, they report to and are accountable to us, the alumni. They are here for us, not, we, for them, If that is not the case, then that is the root of the problem.





We now turn to Athletics. Lets remove the emotion and focus on the numbers:



Less the. 2000 members of the Owl Club (our next conference mate has 5000 members)



Less than $2,000,000.00 raised for athletics in the FY 2022. (Our next conference mate has raised $8,000,000.00)



Athletics currently $90,000,000 in debt.



Athletics subsidized by the university at 95 percent.



No stability in development. Plus, we have a head of Institutional Advancement that is openly hostile to athletics and, in particular, NIL.



NIL is a the reality. None of us like it. But we can’t survive with out. Why is not the Board engaged with the NIL? Why is not one of them leading the initiative? Again, why such hostility to a vital component?



The athletic department does not have enough staff to be run efficiently. More the than 10 people left athletics last summer. And the majority of those positions have not been replaced. And the majority of those positions are revenue generating. Morale is at an all time low in the department. The question is, who should Temple have any less than any other Division I institution.



We are woefully behind on fund raising and NIL. So behind, we can’t see the institution in front of us,.



No plan articulated regarding facilities.



No plan articulated regarding conference realignment



These numbers can not be refuted. If these numbers remain the same, there will no athletics in five years. If this were a business, it would have been shut down years ago.



So again, we ask, what is the Board’s plan to ensure the survival of athletics at Temple? What is it? We don’t have time to waste. The house is on fire. You may disagree with our rhetoric, but the numbers can’t be refuted.



We are in big trouble. We need help. And this Board is the only organization that can stop this from happening.



They can stop it by investing in athletics the same as most Division I institutions. That means personal investments. If they invest wisely, they will get a return on investment.



This department needs real support. So we ask, we beg, the Board, do not let athletics die. Give the people in athletics the tools do to do their job. And then, let them do their job. And allow alumni to fill in the gaps so that we all, as a university, as a community, build this department, this university, the way it should be constructed. Let us ensure that Temple University is set up for success, not failure.



Lastly, there is no public access or space on the agenda for us to to be heard. We will make our voice known. And will share what our experience is at the meeting today.



But know this, we will be respectful. We are all Temple Owls.. We are not enemies. We are brothers and sisters that are trying to solve formidable obstacles.



We would rather be anywhere else than doing this. It truly breaks my heart,. This has been a full time job for the past six months. We are tired. We are weary. But we have angels helping us. Angles like Jim Maloney, Ed Freeman, John Chaney, Joanne Epps, Merv Jones, Skip Wilson. It is for them, that I soldier on.



We look forward to continued sharing of experiences of wisdom, truth and virtue that build our Temple great.

They defeat #10 ranked Syracuse (the defending national champs) at their place 2-1 in an incredible finish. Here are the highlights but Temple was up 1-0 until 3 or 4 minutes left in the second half (and gave up an own goal). They then scored the winner a minute or two later.

I know I created the olympic thread for all all sports but this deserves its own thread for how big of an upset this is. Hopefully this is the start of a turnaround for a program that’s been down for years but has a new coach this season.

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The game, which is set for the day after Thanksgiving, will either air on ESPN at noon ET or on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Tonight, Temple WBB start’s the season at #24 Princeton. Coach Rich is upping the ante for the WBB team. I see a rising program coming to Broad St.

According to Mike Vreeswyk, Jan was killed in a car accident yesterday, allegedly by a drunk driver.

Mike’s FB post:
“ Temple basketball family. I bring tragic news unfortunately. I received some terrible news this morning that a Temple basketball family member, former popular player Jan Post, was tragically killed in a car accident yesterday, by a suspected drunk driver. Jan was a reserve on the 1989-1990 and 1990-1991 (final 8 ) teams. His father-in-law called me this morning and asked me to inform the school and his teammates. Jan coached AAU with me for 2 years and was just a great guy. Always happy and one of the most positive people I ever met. He has 3 college aged kids, Jonathan, Collin and Julia. Please keep them in your thoughts. Jan is center back, blue shirt. Not fair. I’m a better person for knowing him.”

Put that kid on scholarship.

1. PSU, 5-0
2. WVU, 4-1
3. UM, 5-1
4. JMU, 5-0
5. RU, 4-2
6. BC, 3-3
7. SYR, 4-2
8. Army, 2-3
9. Navy, 2-3
10. VaTech, 2-4

• Army and Navy are both 2-3. And, won and lost by the same score, 27-24, on Saturday

• In 2015 TUFB appeared on College GameDay
• UTSA went 3-9 in 2015 w/losses to MiddleTenn and ODU
• This game will epitomize the complete reversal of fortune
• First game of the yr TUFB quits on the field, the beat gets louder
• UTSA gets back on track in a resounding win

UTSA wins, 40 - 10

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Full interview below:

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At the headline reads:

BOT Meeting, Tuesday, October 10, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT at the Fox Gittis Room in the Liacouras Center

This is the first open meeting of the BOT in three years.

WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE AT THIS MEETING AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.

You all know how bad things are at Temple. And specifically, athletics. This BOT has never been held to account.

Even if they do not schedule a time in the agenda for public questions and speaking (and they will not), they can't force us to be silent.

OUR WAY OF LIFE IS IN PERIL!!!!!! THERE WILL BE NO ATHLETICS AT TEMPLE IF WE DON'T ACT NOW!!!!!

So many of you have (correctly) questioned the actions of this Board.

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO DO JUST THAT. IN PERSON. IN FRONT OF MEDIA.

WE IMPORE YOU. WE URGE YOU. HELP US CORRECT THIS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

FOR THE LOVE OF TEMPLE, JOIN US.

At the headline reads:

BOT Meeting, Tuesday, October 10, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT at the Fox Gittis Room in the Liacouras Center

This is the first open meeting of the BOT in three years.

WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE AT THIS MEETING AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.

You all know how bad things are at Temple. And specifically, athletics. This BOT has never been held to account.

Even if they do not schedule a time in the agenda for public questions and speaking (and they will not), they can't force us to be silent.

OUR WAY OF LIFE IS IN PERIL!!!!!! THERE WILL BE NO ATHLETICS AT TEMPLE IF WE DON'T ACT NOW1!!!!!

So many of you have (correctly) questioned the actions of this Board.

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO DO JUST THAT. IN PERSON. IN FRONT OF MEDIA.

WE IMPORE YOU. WE URGE YOU. HELP US CORRECT THIS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

FOR THE LOVE OF TEMPLE, JOIN US.

Temple has a chance to even its record this weekend by winning its homecoming game against UTSA. We're taking mailbag questions until 2 p.m. tomorrow if you have them, whether they're about the roster, recruiting or even something off-topic.

Thanks as always for listening and we look forward to hearing from you!

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