Dear Owls Fan,

Welcome to the "New Year's" edition of my column!

August is an exciting month for Temple Athletics, as we welcome back our student-athletes and start a new season. Slates are clean, everyone is undefeated and optimism runs high. Last year was an incredible year for us, and we're buckled in and ready again to pursue comprehensive excellence in all of our 24 sport programs!

Our football team is already creating buzz among Owls fans. Coming off of our first winning season in 20 years and the first bowl game appearance in 30 seasons, not a day goes by now that I don't hear about the enthusiasm for the upcoming football season. I’m grateful for the excitement among our fans and am also grateful each time someone says to me, "I just became a football season ticket holder for the first time." With more than 500 new full-season ticket packages sold to date, our six home games this season should be more exciting than ever!

It all starts on Friday, Sept. 3 at 5 PM at Lincoln Financial Field as we seek revenge against cross-town rival Villanova in the second Mayor's Cup game. We know that this is a game that is good for both programs, good for our alumni and fans and good for Philadelphia. We all carry the bitter disappointment of last season’s 27-24, time-expiring loss to the Wildcats. Our goal this year is to see 40,000 fans (most in Cherry & White!) fill the stadium and witness a statement Temple victory!

Beyond a big win to kick off the 2010 campaign and to give us momentum heading into home games versus Central Michigan (Sept. 9) and Connecticut (Sept. 18), what we also need at "the Linc" on Sept. 3 is a big turnout. Our student-athletes deserve your support and there will be no shortage of buzz and exciting activity around the stadium that day. Will you be there?

On the field, in the classroom and in the community, our football program has done everything worthy of your immediate support. If you haven't already done so, I ask you to consider purchasing Temple football season tickets. We all want to see the continued renaissance of our football program, and you, as a supporter of Temple Athletics, know by now that the availability of financial resources (via ticket sales and Owl Club gifts) helps our competitive fortunes.

The Time is Now: To order football season tickets, visit www.owlstix.com or call 215-204-8499 today. If you live out of the area, buy season tickets and donate them back to Temple; we'll put them in the hands of a worthwhile community group or non-profit that will appreciate and use them. Not a football fan, but wild about another Temple team? Remember that football is the economic engine that pulls the rest of our department with it -- your ticket purchase actually helps all Temple teams rise together!

As we head into a new athletics season, each of our 24 sport programs is committed to our vision for comprehensive excellence, and that vision requires your support and participation. I know that our future is bright and that with broad participation by our community and friends, we shall achieve our goals.

Go Owls!