New Temple president Neil Theobald vows to do what's best for Owls

Even as the current state of the Big East is fading away, new Temple president Neil D. Theobald said he is excited about being part of the conference.

"I think the future of the Big East is very bright," said Theobald, who officially became the university's president on Jan. 1 after serving as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Indiana. "And Temple is committed to it."

This month, Temple officials are meeting with a consultant to determine which athletic facility upgrades are needed to keep the school competitive. The Owls also will do research to see whether an on-campus football stadium would be better than using Lincoln Financial Field.

"Well, our lease with the Eagles [for the Linc] runs another five years," Theobald said. "If we do something, we would have to look at the time frame. But no decision has been made."

The only decision that has been made is the Owls' making the most of becoming an all-sports member of the Big East regardless of which universities remain in the conference.

Owls teams except for football are scheduled to leave the Atlantic Ten for the Big East on July 1. The Temple football team just completed its first season back in the Big East after being kicked out after the 2004 season. The Owls were a football-only member of the Mid-American Conference from 2007-11.

The Big East non-FBS schools - Villanova, Georgetown, St. John's, Marquette, Seton Hall, DePaul, and Providence - have told the conference that they will leave. Those Catholic universities likely will look to add schools such as Butler and Xavier and form their own league.

Louisville has left for the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Rutgers has departed for the Big Ten since Temple joined the Big East. Boise State backed out last month without ever playing a game as a football-only member. And there's talk that Cincinnati and Connecticut could leave the conference.

"I think everyone is going to do what's best for their own university," Theobald said. "In talking with president [Susan] Herbst at Connecticut and president Santa Ono at Cincinnati, they are quite honest. They will do what's best for their institutions. And I'll tell you, I'll do what's best for Temple University at all times.

"But they are committed to the Big East."

Right now, Theobald said, the presidents of the Big East schools are working jointly to make the conference the best it can be.

"You get UConn and Temple and Cincinnati and Memphis playing basketball, that's a strong league," Theobald said. "South Florida is good at basketball.

"In football, you have Central Florida, South Florida, and Southern Methodist. You've got some good football programs in there, too, and good academic institutions. I think we are a good fit to the others."