Temple Football Has Been Case Of Gloom And Doom Little Publicity, Few Supporters; Newspaper Picks WSU To Cover

Temple University football coach Ron Dickerson, by all accounts, is a decent and honorable man.

Attempts at obtaining first-hand evidence, in the form of repeated interview requests since Monday, have been about as successful as the Owls’ game plan against Penn State last season.

(Nittany Lions 66, Owls 14.)

Thursday afternoon’s practice was closed to the media, as per Dickerson policy, although reporters weren’t exactly racing to lodge protests with the ACLU.

Neither of Thursday’s local papers made mention of Temple football or Saturday night’s date with Washington State, unless you count a chart of this weekend’s games, in which six of seven Daily News staffers picked the Cougs to cover.

And who says the national media doesn’t give Wazzu its due?

As for Temple, one can hardly blame Philadelphia for being indifferent, considering the Owls haven’t won more than two games in a season since 1990.

Since Dickerson accepted the job in 1992, he has fought a losing battle. The Owls drew 4,406 spectators per home game last season, the nadir coming when a mere 3,739 showed up in 66,592-seat Veterans Stadium. Philadelphia can be a ruthless sports town, as ‘93 World Series goat Mitch Williams would attest, and Temple will have to win before it expects anyone to notice.

The prognosis appears bleak.

Since Dickerson took over for Jerry Berndt, who left after going 11-33, Temple has posted records of 1-10, 2-9 and 1-10. The Owls are 1-0 this season, having defeated Eastern Michigan on Saturday, but Dickerson’s teams have squandered 1-0 and 2-1 starts before.

These days, progress at Temple is best measured in the average margin per defeat, which fell from 40.5 points in 1993 to 20.1 and 17.3 points in subsequent seasons. Making the ascent particularly difficult is a Big East Conference schedule that includes regular games against established programs at Miami, Syracuse, West Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Dickerson, to his credit, appears to run an honorable program. He expects his players to conduct themselves as gentlemen, or else.

“It’s more than winning,” Dickerson told the Boston Herald for an April article. “You have to try and build character. I’ve gotten rid of 14 kids since I’ve been here.”

Earrings and foul language are not tolerated by Dickerson, a 48-year-old disciplinarian who requires players to remove their hats upon entering a building.

“I’m a no-nonsense guy, and everybody knows it,” he told the Herald.

Before becoming a no-nonsense coach, Dickerson was a no-nonsense defensive back at Kansas State, good enough to be drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1970. He went on to be an assistant at six universities, earning a national championship ring with Penn State in 1986.

Since then, he has been president of the Black Coaches Association.

Birnbaum to get in

Cougars coach Mike Price said this week he expects backup quarterback Steve Birnbaum to play against Temple. Price said he had planned for Birnbaum to play in last weekend’s loss to Colorado, but decided to give starter Ryan Leaf additional chances to establish something positive against the Buffaloes.

, DataTimes