Basketball remains Temple's marquee athletics program, one of the winningest in the NCAA. But in a new, big-money college ethos, the school is having a hard time keeping up with the uber-competitive landscape of attracting big-time talent.Oct. 4, 2023, 8:00 a.m. ET
If Carl was attempting to speak plain truth, another Tuff Fund founder, Seth Goldblum, added a little more venom in a recent telephone interview he conducted with Carl, speaking to The Inquirer. Also in the same Owl Club virtual meeting, Temple athletic administrators pointed out how donations to the department were similarly behind rivals within the American Athletic Association. Not just the ones you might expect, like Memphis or SMU, for example. But Charlotte, with the same number of donors, is raising more annually.
More from the Inquirer's Collective Effort series: Here's how Villanova basketball transformed itself into a pro teamTemple’s AD also wanted to make it clear that the athletic department gets what he called “great support” from the higher administration and the board of trustees when it comes to supporting the whole athletic enterprise. Of his own budget, “a large part of it [comes] from the university.
In Carl’s mind, NIL collectives actually hinder recruiting efforts at programs such as Villanova hoops or Alabama football, even as their collectives are well-funded. “A detriment,” Carl said. “It’s another factor that levels the playing field.” A coaching change in men’s basketball was certainly a factor as five key players transferred out after last season. Both Carl and Goldblum said they are certain several players would have stayed if the collective was better funded after Adam Fisher replaced Aaron McKie as head coach. Transfers left for Penn State, Cincinnati, Memphis, Arkansas, and Houston.
“It’s that Philly quid pro quo,” one development specialist said, making it clear this wasn’t just a Temple thing.