January is here and it is a busy one for Temple Athletics as well as collegiate athletics. As I pen the first newsletter of the 2024 calendar year, I am attending the NCAA Convention in Phoenix which begins today. This will be the first gathering of college athletics leaders since NCAA President Charlie Baker proposed a new model for Division I membership. This is the first time the President Baker’s proposals are being discussed in an open forum. I look forward to the discussion surrounding these proposals over the next few days.

More importantly, I am excited as we look forward to the students returning to campus. As I have stated before, they bring a great energy and excitement to campus. We will start the semester with our second Annual MLK Day of Service where our student-athletes, coaches, and staff will go out to serve at 14 community organizations.

Finally, I want to congratulate Coach Diane Richardson on her 100th win. I appreciate our student-athletes and staff for getting it done.

The Fall semester grades are in the books and once again Temple Student-Athletes excelled in the classroom. Our Owls earned an overall semester grade point average of 3.37 which extends our streak to 24 semesters with a cumulative GPA above a 3.00. Eighteen varsity sports teams earned a Fall GPA above a 3.0, with seven sports earning higher than a 3.5 GPA. Men’s cross country (3.72) and women’s gymnastics (3.68) had the highest GPA for male and female teams, respectively.

A special thanks to Dr. Jodi Levine Laufgraben, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Assessment, and Institutional Research, and Tara Evans, Director of the Nancy & Donald Resnick Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes for their continued leadership and helping our student-athletes reach their academic potential.

I am excited to announce the hiring of Chris Shaw as our new head women’s soccer coach. Coach Shaw has successfully rebuilt two NCAA Division I programs in his career, most recently leading Robert Morris to a program-record 12 wins this past fall. I want to thank Kristy Bannon, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance and Student Affairs, Derek Horne, Executive Senior Associate AD/Strategic Initiatives and Sports, and the entire search committee for their service.

It was great seeing so many of Owl Club members at our Annual Membership meeting on Sunday following our men’s basketball team’s win over Wichita State. What a great day and a tremendous turnout for the event.Thanks to Ed Stoner, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director, and Owl Club President Jason Brown for running the event and putting together a program that included an overview of Temple Athletics; a NIL Update from Executive Senior Associate Athletic Directors Justin Miller and Kristy Bannon; an Owl Club Nominating Report from Pat Marion; an Owl Club Membership Report from Chris Russell; and an Owl Club Events Report from Marc Fleischner.

Thanks again for your much-needed support of Temple Athletics and its student-athletes!

Our Temple Spirit Squad will be competing at UCA and UDA College Nationals this weekend at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. A total of 59 members of our Cheerleading and Diamond Gems Dance Team (including mascots) will be at the event competing in the following categories: Cheer (Game Day), Cheer (All-Girl Routine), Dance (Game Day), Dance (Pom), and Dance (Hip-Hop).

The teams held an amazing Showcase Event at McGonigle Hall on Jan. 6 and our athletics staff gave the squad a nice send-off today outside. We wish Coaches Jennifer Keller and Jenna Komosinski and their student-athletes all the best as they look to bring home a National Championship.

The entire championship will stream on the Varsity TV app and can be watched here.

Men’s Basketball returned from the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu to open its conference season this past week. The team lost its American Athletic Conference opener at USF, before rebounding with a win over Wichita State at the Liacouras Center Sunday. The team takes on East Carolina tonight (7 pm) at the Liacouras Center before embarking on a two-game Texas swing against North Texas and SMU.

Women’s Basketball is off to a 3-1 start in American Athletic Conference play. The Owls just returned from a two-game road sweep of Tulsa, handing the Golden Hurricane its first conference loss, and Wichita State. The team is back in action at the Liacouras Center this Sunday against Memphis (2 pm.)

Women’s Gymnastics opened its season last weekend at the Keystone Classic (Jan. 5) and at West Virginia (Jan. 7). Brooke Donabedian (floor), Renee Schugman (beam), and Madison Dorunda (vault) won individual championships at West Virginia while Sarah Stallings (bars) captured her eighth event title at the Keystone Classic.

Women’s Track resumes its Indoor Schedule after winter break with at trip to State College to compete at the Nittany Lion Challenge.

Special shoutout to our Athlete of the Week since our last edition of From The Nest: Women’s Basketball – Aleah Nelson was named Big 5 co-Player of the Week and OwlSports.com Athlete of the Week (1/8); Tiarra East was named OwlSports.com Athlete of the Month for December.

Temple Talk with Adam Fisher debuted on Nov. 2 (6-7 pm) at Maxi’s Pizza, Subs and Bar which is located on the Temple University main campus. (1926 Liacouras Walk). The 12-episode show airs live on The Varsity Network App and is tape-delayed on 1210 AM WPHT, the home of Temple Basketball. Temple Women’s Basketball will be featured on each show with second-year head coach Diane Richardson and players talking about their season.

Reminder that ESPN+ is the home of Temple Athletics. Watch Temple athletics events via an ESPN+ subscription.

Please come out and continue to support all our Temple Athletics teams. Below is a link to our composite schedule.

In closing, I hope that 2024 is a great year for you and your families and I look forward to seeing you at a Temple Athletics event this year.

Missed an edition? See all past newsletters HERE.