Temple-Hawaii game very much alive with Dec. 7 date
Temple college sports - basketball, football and more - covered by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey.
Temple-Hawaii game very much alive with Dec. 7 date
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Now, it appears that Temple's proposed game with Hawaii in December is close to becoming a reality.
Talks between the two universities resumed Thursday and there appears to be an "agreement in principle" to play Dec. 7 at Aloha Stadium. The orginial target date was Dec. 8. However, a Pop Warner football game is already scheduled at the stadium that day.
But according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, the Owls are willing to make considerable concessions to add the game.
After rejoining the Big East in March, Temple (3-4) was left with only 11 games on this season's schedule. Since then, the Owls have been attempting to schedule a 12th opponent to make it easier to get the six wins needed to become bowl-eligible for the fourth consecutive season. The discussions with Hawaii have been on and off since July.
Under its current 11-game schedule, Temple would have to win three of its remaining four games to reach six victories.
A struggling team, the Warriors (1-6) would provide a great opportunity for the Owls to get a needed victory.
Temple was a football-only member of the Mid-American Conference during the previous five seasons.
The Star Advertiser reported on Wednesday that proposed plans to play the game were pulled off the table.
But Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw shot the report down.
"It's not over yet," Bradshaw said.
Yep, fly the team 5 time zones away and back the weekend before finals week. Sounds like perhaps mediocre sports performances are more important than mediocre (or worse, after seeing TU's male revenue athlete graduation rate) academic performances for their "student athletes" up on North Broad.— bobcitydoc
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh graduate. Follow him on Twitter @pompeysgridlock. Reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
