Cardoza ready to take over the sidelines

The newest face of the women’s basketball team, Tonya Cardoza, was formally introduced as the program’s newest coach during a media conference at the Liacouras Center this afternoon.

Just 56 days after Dawn Staley left the Owls to take over the reigns in South Carolina, Temple found its successor.

Cardoza, a former teammate of Staley at Virginia, brings with her 14 years of coaching experience. As an assistant to Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma at Connecticut, Cardoza is familiar with winning. She helped guide the Huskies to five national championships and a 464-41 overall record.

“At Connecticut, we strive to be the best, and I’m trying to do it right away [at Temple],” Cardoza said. “I know that there is a foundation [at Temple] and the players are willing to work. I’m willing to work and we’re going to try and do this as quickly as possible.”

Cardoza, an offensive specialist, worked primarily with guards at Connecticut. She trained WNBA stars Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird and pledges to remedy the Owls’ inconsistent offense.

The Owls shot only 40.7 percent from the field last season and relied heavily on senior guard Ashley Morris. Cardoza promises an “up-tempo” style of basketball, in which everyone gets involved offensively.

“I know I made the right decision, and I’m excited to be apart of your family,” Cardoza said. ”Dawn – she set the bar, and I’m ready to take the baton and run with it.”

Anthony Stipa can be reached at anthony.stipa@temple.edu.

(Photos by TTN Photo Editor Rachel Playe)

Staley leaves for South Carolina

“We were looking for a gem and we found a bright diamond right in our own backyard.”
– Former Temple Athletic Director Dave O’Brien after hiring Dawn Staley as Temple’s women’s basketball coach on April 20, 2000.

The diamond is gone.

In a move that may shake the women’s basketball program for years to come, Dawn Staley agreed to become coach of the University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team Saturday.

The 38-year-old Philadelphia native and former WNBA all-star is the winningest coach in Temple women’s basketball history, amassing a 172-80 record in eight seasons with the Owls.  She signed a six-year contract extension with Temple last year and earned $500,000 this season.
Staley agreed to a five-year deal with South Carolina — which includes a $500,000 buyout — with a base salary of $250,000 and a total package reaching $650,000 per year, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

She will take over a team that went 16-16 overall and 4-10 in the Southeastern Conference last year under former coach Susan Walvius, who resigned last month.
“My vision is to bring national prominence to South Carolina,” Staley said Saturday in a press conference in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks, who have made trips to the WNIT the past three seasons, last made the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2002.
“It’s a bold move,” Staley said, “but challenges are things that drive me.”

At Temple, the Dobbins Tech High graduate took on a challenge when she inherited a program that suffered through a decade of losing campaigns before she arrived in 2000.

Staley, who had no previous coaching experience when she took the job, quickly turned things around, leading the Owls to six NCAA Tournament appearances and four Atlantic Ten Conference Championship wins, including three consecutive league titles between 2004 and 2006.

For her efforts, the three-time Olympic gold medalist was awarded A-10 Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2005. She also coached two A-10 Player of the Year winners in Candice Dupree (2005 and 2006) and Kamesha Hairston (2007), both of whom were first round selections in the WNBA Draft in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

This year, the Owls finished 21-13 overall and 12-2 in the A-10, losing to Arizona State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Despite fielding six 20-or-more-win teams including a program record 28-win squad in 2004-2005, Staley’s Owls never advanced past the second round of the NCAAs during her tenure.

Now, Staley, perhaps the greatest Philadelphia-born women’s basketball player ever, is leaving her backyard for a new home.

“It was a very difficult decision but sometimes things happen,” Staley said. “I think professionally I like to be challenged just to reassure myself as a coach. I thank Temple University for giving me the opportunity to hone my skills as a coach. This opportunity fits me.”

“Dawn Staley has had a strong record at Temple University,” Temple Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw said in a statement. “We wish her the best at South Carolina.”

The Carolina region isn’t unfamiliar to Staley.

The Virginia University graduate played for the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting for six full seasons before finishing out her professional career with a short stint with the Houston Comets in 2005.

“Personally, I have a lot of family members supporting me today,” Staley said. Her mother, Estelle, was born in Seneca, S.C. “Professionally, I want to coach against some of the best coaches in the country, and this is one of the best conferences in the country.”

In the SEC, Staley’s Gamecocks will play against powerhouse programs like the reigning national champion Tennessee Lady Vols, Lousiana State and Georgia on a yearly basis.

While Staley prepares to face some of the top teams in the country, the Owls will conduct a national search to find a new coach. The hunt to find Staley’s successor is slated to begin this week, Bradshaw told the Inquirer Friday.

Potential candidates include Patty Coyle, coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty and a West Catholic High graduate, and young assistants from nationally ranked teams such as Jamelle Elliott or Tonya Cardoza of Connecticut or Carlene Mitchell of Rutgers, Inquirer women’s basketball writer Mel Greenberg reported Friday.
The Owls may also target a high-profile coach from another college, Greenberg wrote.

“What is most important is we go from the great work Dawn did at Temple and find the right bridge to take us to the future,” Bradshaw told the Inquirer.

Tyson McCloud can be reached at tyson@temple.edu.

Jordan values time on bench

Women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley could secretly be piecing together a coaching staff capable of defeating the actual lineup.

First, there’s Staley. The three-time Olympic gold medalist’s on-court career was successful, highlighted by two USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year awards (in 1994 and 2004), three All-American honors at the University of Virginia and all-star-caliber stints in both the ABL and WNBA.

Before this season, there was no question who was going to man the point for the former players and current coaching staff roster.

But now the coaches acquired another former point guard: 2005 Temple graduate  , a graduate assistant for the team, is back in school for a degree in sports administration and recreation.

“It’s not really that much different [being on the sideline than it was playing],” Jordan, who received Atlantic Ten Conference first-team honors as a senior, said on Selection Monday after the Owls received an at-large bid for this year’s NCAA Tournament.

“I think I play a big role in that I break down the films. I’m going to work all night tonight and get all the preparation work for the coaches [ready], and the materials that they need, so that they can put the players in the best situation to win.”

From the outside, it’s a completely different role then what the 5-foot-7 guard faced while playing on the team.

Jordan’s playing career didn’t extend as long as Staley’s, but she collected a few of her own awards, while leaving her name in Temple’s history books and memories in the minds of Temple fans.

In 106 games as an Owl, the Florida native knocked down 119 threes, the fifth most of any Temple player. She also finished her career in the top 10 in total assists, as well as assists per game, and as No. 19 on the all-time scoring list.

Jordan is also tied for the team record with Mimi Carroll for most free throws made in a single game after she converted 14 of 17 on December 13, 2004. The 17 attempts are second most behind Carroll’s 20 when she made those 14 in the 1985-1986 season.

When Jordan graduated, she held the record for most assists in a game for a Temple player at the Liacouras Center with nine, but the record was upped by senior Ashley Morris, who dished out 11 against Massachusetts on March 1.

Though she stood in the shadow of now-WNBA star Candice Dupree in her senior year, Jordan played an essential role in leading Temple to its first-ever Top 25 national ranking, ending the season ranked No. 16 in the country.

A highlight of the Owls’ 25-game winning streak came at the hands of Jordan while playing at Massachusetts’ Mullins Center. She nailed a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Owls their 20th victory in a row.

That year, after the Owls were defeated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, it may have been the last time Jordan hung up her Temple uniform, but it was not the last time she’d be on the court.

Last year, she played in Switzerland.

“It was a pretty good experience. It gave me the opportunity to live out my dreams and see what it is to be a professional basketball player,” Jordan said. “I had a good time, [but now] I think I have another venture, and I think I’m probably about done playing.”

And that new venture has her back at Temple.

“Once you come into this program, you’re always going to feel a part of it,” Jordan said. “Alumni – we like to come back and help out the team anyway we can.”

Jordan mentioned how she’s felt more than a graduate assistant this year after former assistant Darius Taylor left Temple to work in the National Basketball Association’s Developmental League.

“We have a coaching position that’s vacant, so I picked up some extra roles and duties,” Jordan said before leaving for College Park, Md., where the team lost to No. 6 ASU on Sunday. “I do some on-the-court stuff.”

Whether the “on-the-court stuff” will ever equal she and Staley teaming up to challenge the players at any point is unknown, but Jordan could have found a long-term spot on the bench.

Jeff Appelblatt can be reached at the.jeff@temple.edu.

Morris’ teammates run out of gas against Arizona State

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — After 21 wins, 13 losses and countless practices, road trips, meetings and weight room sessions, it was all over.

The 11th-seeded women’s basketball team’s season came to an end Sunday in a 61-54 loss to No. 6 Arizona State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Comcast Center.

With the score tied at halftime, the Sun Devils began the second half on a 13-0 run and never looked back as they held off a late Owls charge and advanced to the second round of the tournament to face No. 3 Duke.

“I thought we lost it on the defensive end,” coach Dawn Staley said. “I think it was more so of just a little mental breakdown defensively… But we got beat by a very good basketball team that kept the pressure on us all night.”

Senior guard Ashley Morris led the way like she’s been doing all season, notching a game-high 21 points in her final contest in Cherry and White. Senior center Lady Comfort added 11 points and five rebounds, but no other Owl reached double-figures and the team turned the ball over 19 times.

But despite the loss, the Owls still had a fairly successful 2007-2008 campaign.

Picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Ten Conference preseason poll, Staley’s squad defied the critics and finished in a tie for first place with George Washington. They advanced to the A-10 title game and received the program’s second consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Led by Morris, who finished the season averaging 15.2 points per game, the Owls certainly surpassed expectations.

“We never doubted ourselves,” Morris said. “We knew we had the group to [make the tournament] and get this far, and we even thought we would go further. So I don’t think we ever fed into what people were saying about us.”

While that kind of mentality, along with that kind of leadership, helped the Owls this season, the focus now shifts to next year.
With Morris and Comfort exiting, new players will have to step up to fill key roles —both on and off the court.

“You’re going to have to [dig deep] to find something in order for us to be effective next year, because [Morris] was it this year,” Staley said. “So hopefully our players will come back and this sour taste that’s left in our mouth will force them to do a little more in the offseason.”

And so as the Owls begin preparing for next season, Morris and Comfort will begin preparing for whatever comes next in their basketball careers.
“I just don’t know what I’m going to do with myself,” Morris said. “All I want to do is play basketball. I don’t know.”

“I’m just going to look to the future,” Comfort added. “Keep trying to play basketball somewhere for somebody.”

For Staley, she is undoubtedly upset in losing two players that have been with her for four years. But at the same time, she knows that they’re ready to move to the next level of their lives.

“They’re going to be an asset to another company or a basketball team,” Staley said. “And I’m proud to know that they wore this Temple University uniform proudly. They did us proud, and I’m sure when we look back ten years from now, they’re going to continue to make us proud.”

Todd Orodenker can be reached at todd.orodenker@temple.edu.

Retirement leaves Temple without a face

After the initial excitement of learning that I was accepted to Temple in 2003 had subsided, I felt myself falling into a daily conversation regarding my future.

Once many of my neighbors, coaches and other acquaintances had found out where I was attending college, almost every one of them followed with a statement that sounded a little like this:

“Oh, so you’re going up to school with John Chaney, huh? That guy is crazy but you should have fun.”

I’m sure many of you had similar encounters when you first announced that you were going to be a Temple Owl.

While sitting at Chaney’s retirement press conference last week, however, those words my friends, coaches and the like had uttered were constantly ringing through my head. His departure is not only going to shorten these reoccurring discussions, but it also leaves the university without a face.

Although there is a host of famous individuals who call Philly home, the list of famous Temple alumnae is considerably shorter. Sure, there is longtime comedian Bill Cosby, but how often is he seen strolling through our campus or the grandstands of the Liacouras Center? Then there’s former America’s Funniest Home Video host and stand-up comedian Bob Saget, but has anyone seen him since the turn of the century?

With President David Adamany retiring in June, his name can be crossed off this list. Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw has built quite a name for himself within the city, but when is the last time fans actually backed an administrative type?

Current Mayor and Temple alumnus John Street has enough on his plate, as he tries to balance the city’s budget and curb violence.

On the court, Temple has fielded notable NBA players like Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie. But those two are in the twilight of their pro careers and are barely hanging on to their notoriety within the league.

With all those names crossed out, actor Tom Sizemore, Democratic Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Fumo and Jimmy Pop, lead singer of the band the Blood Hound Gang, are among those who remain.

Take your pick.

So as the men’s basketball team prepares to write the next chapter in its history, so must the university. The next coach will immediately be thrown into the spotlight, and looked upon to reverse the postseason trend that involves the National Invitational Tournament, which could also be affectionately known as the Not In the Tournament curse.

Much has been said regarding the several candidates in contention to be Chaney’s successor, which could be one of the scariest jobs on the planet.

Many see the job as only for those who understand its importance. Temple’s former coach (it sure is weird saying that) has done so much for the community. His role in the city of Philadelphia is one that any “out-of-towner” would have a difficult time doing. The next coach would have to come and win the hearts of the Philly and Temple faithful first.

But until that time comes, when Temple’s Athletic Department announces who will be it’s next men’s basketball coach, the face of Temple University may already be in someone else’s pocket.

Women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley has quickly built a coaching resume for herself. Only in her sixth season as head coach, Staley’s list of accomplishments stands on its own.

In today’s world, wins speak volumes and Staley is screaming to be Temple’s next face.

At Temple since the 2000-01 season, Staley, 35, has led the Owls to four NCAA Tournaments.

In 2002 Temple won its first women’s Atlantic Ten Conference tournament title. Two years later, Staley led the Owls to the top of the A-10 East standings with a 14-2 record and Temple’s second A-10 Tournament title.

Last season she led the Owls to a perfect 16-0 finish in the conference and a 28-4 overall record, en route to a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 28 wins were a program single-season record.

This season the women’s basketball team captured its third consecutive A-10 crown and yet another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

A dynasty could be unfolding before our eyes. It may very well be a second coming of Tennessee’s famed coach Pat Summitt.

The team is the brightest star in Temple’s cloudy athletic program that became even more overcast last week with Chaney’s announcement.

Regardless, this is a big decision that faces the powers that be. Maybe a committee of the city’s brightest minds needs to be comprised to ensure Temple’s return to its former status as the ‘it’ school in Philadelphia.

Or maybe an oracle needs to be consulted.

Whatever happens, this choice is a big decision. Maybe it’s not as big as paper or plastic, but it may have an effect on whether Temple will deliver itself back to Division I prominence or further into D-I obscurity.

Jeremy Drummond can be reached at jdrum@temple.edu.

Meet the ten Temple faces you don’t know, but should

There are 34,000 students, 4,000 staff and administrators, and 1,600 faculty members at Temple. The university has a diverse pool of talent who are widely unknown – at least to many people in the Temple community. The Temple News has compiled a list of 10 people who are most worth recognizing. These most recognizable people are found in less than recognizable places. Holed up in small offices, their regional, national and international presences seem hardly on display. Yet, most said Temple’s academic freedom keeps them here.

When compiling the list, some people were just too obvious, like President Adamany or Bill Cosby, while others, such as John Chaney or Dawn Staley, were just too well known. These are the faces that aren’t as recognized as their accomplishments merit. Read on, you may just be surprised at what you learn.

Click here function openSlideShow2049(){window.open(slideshowpath + 2049,’selectUser’,config=’scrollbars=No,resizable=Yes’);}Ten Faces to see photos of Temple’s ten faces.

1 Dr. Antonio Giordano, co-director of Temple’s Center of Biotechnology

In an accent reminiscent of a youth in Naples, “I’m either from Italy or South Philly – you guess,” Giordano said. One of his most published accomplishments, among many others at Temple, was Giordano’s discovery of Rb2/p130, a tumor-suppressing gene that is an early identifier of cancer. At 43, he has published more than 240 papers, trained more than 150 scientists and been awarded 10 patents, with six more pending. He currently directs 25 post doctorate and graduate students, the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research, which he founded, and the Journal of Physiology, of which he is editor. Giordano reviews grants for the American Cancer Society, evaluates research programs for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is on the review board of seven other scientific journals.

2 Dr. Molefi Asante, professor, African American Studies Department

With more than 60 books and 300 articles to his name, Asante is one of the world’s most published contemporary scholars. Born one of 16 children in Valdosta, Ga., he was recognized by Black Issues in Higher Education as one of the most influential leaders in the last 15 years and named one of the “100 Leading Thinkers in America” by the Utne Reader. At Temple, Asante was integral in establishing the world’s first African American Ph.D. program, has directed more than 125 dissertations and founded the theory of Afrocentricity. The African Union cited him as one of the 12 top scholars of African descent. He was also honored as a traditional king in Akyem, Ghana, in 1995.

3 Dr. John Daly, dean of Temple University School of Medicine

Since taking over Temple’s once struggling school of medicine in Nov. 2002, Daly’s goal has been to “rejuvenate the medical school back to what it once was.” The school’s annual revenue has gone from $191 million in 2002 to $233 million in 2005, and he has hired 250 new faculty. Daly is overseeing the new 14-story, $150 million medical building to be completed in 2010 and plans to make Temple’s medical program one of the country’s 40 best. Before coming to Temple, Daly worked at Sloan Kettering Hospital, then became the chief of surgical oncology at the University of Pennsylvania and then the chief of surgery at Cornell University.

4 Dr. Arvind Phatak, executive director of Institute of Global Management Studies

A professor at Temple since 1966, Phatak was one of the first recipients of Temple’s Great Teacher Award and has also won the Distinguished Faculty Award and MBA Professor of the Year Award. Phatak established Temple’s International Business Program, earned one of only 30 Center for International Business, Education and Research Grants in the country, valued at $1.2 million over four years. Phatak started two Temple programs in his native India and has written six books. “For foreign born students in America, failure is not an option,” Phatak said.

5 William Bergman, vice president of Operations

As one of Temple’s most active administrators, Bergman heads Campus Safety, Facilities Management, Environmental Health and Safety, and Community Relations. Bergman completed his masters at night while working as a Philadelphia police officer before being promoted to the Department of Police Commissioner and then to assistant superintendent for safety for Philadelphia public schools. He helped coordinate Project Brotherly Love for Hurricane Katrina victims and the Philadelphia AIDS ride, and serves on community councils and a school planning group for the neighborhoods near Temple.

6 Dr. Kariamu Welsh, professor, Boyer School of Music and Dance

An expert of African dance, Welsh created her own technique – Umfundalai – which is taught throughout the world. She founded the since disbanded National Dance Company of Zimbabwe in 1981 and has won three Fulbright awards. Currently a senior Fulbright specialist, Welsh has supervised more than 35 dissertations and remains active in choreography and lecturing internationally.

7 Dr. Samuel Hodge Jr., chair of Legal Studies Department

There aren’t many professors as accomplished as Hodge who teach introductory courses with more than 500 undergraduates. Perhaps one of the country’s most creative professors, he was one of the first recipients of Temple’s Great Teacher Award and has had his unusual multimedia teaching techniques covered by the New York Times. It’s not all games with Hodge, though. The Temple Law graduate has published more than 85 articles and three books.

8 Terell Stafford, director of Temple’s Jazz Studies

Time is precious to Stafford, who said, “I just can’t sleep.” As a popular guest conductor, internationally beloved trumpeter and with five jazz albums completed, Stafford has no time for rest. He’s toured Spain, Denmark and Sweden and is a regular at the Village Vanguard in New York City. At 39, he is considered one of the best jazz musicians in the world and one of the best teachers at Temple. But Stafford isn’t satisfied. “I still want to become a better teacher and a better musician,” he said.

9 Capt. Eileen Bradley, Campus Safety Services

From being the first woman on the Temple police force to becoming captain in 2004, Bradley’s 34-year career has been community based, to say the least. She has taken an active role in local Special Olympic events and is on the board of directors of the Variety Club, an international children’s charity. Bradley has helped to organize annual holiday parties and summer equestrian camps for local children, which gain popularity each year.

10 Jason Riley, assistant director of Community Relations, Temple Volunteers

Riley, 25, is the youngest person on this list. He is a 2003 graduate of St. Joseph’s University, where he earned the school’s first and only full community service scholarship. While taking graduate courses here, he oversees the Temple University Community Service Association, the Residential Organization for Community Service and the Temple Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Fluent in Spanish, Riley has taught the language, volunteered for a year in Puerto Rico and studied abroad in El Salvador. Riley began the Project Mexico community service trip. Student community service hours went up 69 percent in his first year here.

Worth Noting

Alvin T. Greenspan, professor emeritus of Engineering

Pledged $1 million to the College of Engineering, consulted for direction of the engineering program, and facilitates Alumni Association meetings

Dr. Ruth Ost, director of Honors Program

Involved with honors for more than a decade, she has overseen a growth in the program’s size with 384 incoming freshmen honors students this fall semester.

Students: the next generation of Temple faces

Josh Meyer, senior, environmental studies and chemistry

Started urban sustainability course, co-founded Students for Environmental Action, twice won Morris K. Udall National Scholarship and was profiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education for his work in an impoverished suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Robert Reyes, senior, English and secondary education

Co-founder of Temple’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity and president of the organization for its first two years. He interned with Habitat in Harlem last summer and co-led Habitat trips to New Mexico and Tallahassee, Fla. Reyes was previously a tutor with Temple Tutors and Project Shine, and he is currently a resident assistant in 1300 residence hall.

Rachel Gallo, junior, public health

President of Temple University Community Service Association, built schools in Mexico, worked with Habitat for Humanity in Florida, participated in world AIDS conference in Thailand.

Oscar Chow, senior, political science

Born in Nicaragua, student government president, vice president of both Brothers and Sisters in Christ and of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Pi Rho Chapter, former White Hall resident assistant.

Raysean Hogan, junior, accounting and risk management

Born in Pasadena, Calif., president of Main Campus Program Board, involved in four to six campus wide programs monthly, member, Sigma Iota Gamma.

Just for fun: names that all Temple students need to know

Bernard James

“Welcome to Bernard’s!” The cafeteria’s most famous resident.

Peter Beers

Johnson and Hardwick Cafeteria manager and responder to all comment cards.

Mardy Collins

No. 25 is a potential all-American. His NBA ability is no secret to Owls faithful.

Candice Dupree

Another preseason all-American, and tri-captain of the preseason No. 21-ranked women’s basketball team.

Officer Michael McShane

Everyone has seen this Temple officer in his golf cart-sized patrol vehicle.

Rob “Earthworm” Szostak

Temple’s very own dancing ladies man and Facebook king.

Richie Jr.

Owner, Richie’s Deli on the 12th Street Food Pad.

Chris Wink and Josh Chamberlain can be reached at templenews@GMail.com.

Temple is more than Chaney and Cosby

I searched the Princeton Review and simply could not find a single list that ranked a school based on the acts of one of its basketball coaches and an alumnus. Why is that?

It doesn’t reflect the quality of the school.

In the Feb. 28 edition of the Philadelphia Metro, Clark DeLeon wrote a column titled, “Temple tarnished by Cosby and Chaney,” where he said, “Over the years Bill Cosby and John Chaney have been more than merely the most recognized and admired personalities associated with Temple, more than the exquisitely human face that an otherwise image-challenged urban university shows the world. Eventually, these hometown heroes became the lifeblood of Temple’s self-identity, as constant and comforting as the lub and the dub of a beating human heart.”

What drew me to Temple was not Cosby or Chaney. I didn’t know who Chaney was until basketball season started my freshman year. What enticed me to attend Temple was the diversity of the student population, ranked third in the nation by the Princeton Review, and an accredited journalism program, something only two schools in Pennsylvania can claim, the other being Penn State. When a program is accredited, it means the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications has sent a team of reviewers to make sure things like class size, faculty and the curriculum all meet a standard of excellence.

Then there’s Forbes magazine, which ranked Temple as the fourth most connected university in the country. The London Financial Times ranked the Fox School of Business’ MBA program No. 1 in the United States for “Value for Money.” They also ranked the MBA program as one of the top 50 in the United States and one of the top 75 in the world.

There are also other notable Temple alumni besides Cosby. Sammie Knox, a Tyler graduate, painted the portraits of the Clintons now hanging in the White House. Full House star Bob Saget received his degree from Temple, and if that’s not awesome I don’t know what is.

The National Project on Women and Heart Disease is using Temple University Hospital as its model for a project to reduce the number of women who have heart disease.

Temple researchers developed a drug that could treat all forms of chronic myelogenous leukemia, which is a rare but deadly form of cancer, according to the health sciences Web site. Some who have the disease build a resistance to Gleevec, once considered one of the best forms of treatment for this type of cancer. These Temple researchers found a way to overcome this resistance, allowing patients to continue effective treatment.

These examples are more important than the allegations thrown at Cosby and the actions of Chaney.

Since the media insist on focusing on sports, let’s talk about Dawn Staley winning an Olympic gold medal, carrying the American flag during the opening ceremonies of last summer’s games and being named a finalist for the Naismith Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year award. Let’s also talk about the women’s basketball team going undefeated in the Atlantic Ten conference this season and winning the conference championship.

Yet Temple’s reputation is apparently shaped by only two men: a basketball coach and a graduate.

I’m not going to pretend Cosby isn’t a highly visible Temple icon, but he is not the heart of the University. He is not what makes it run every day.

DeLeon said in his article, “The world knew, but, more importantly, we knew that the Coz and Coach really could have gone anywhere. But they chose Temple.”

So do more than 34,000 other students per year, and I’m willing to bet they didn’t choose Temple because a basketball coach and the star of the Cosby Show did, too.

Temple is not some glorified community college. It is one of the largest and best universities in the nation. Its history is rich and its awards are numerous. It will take more than bad publicity to tarnish its reputation.

Carolyn Steeves can be reached at csteeves@temple.edu.