If you thought it was tough being a business student, imagine being a business student and an athlete. It’s a unique, life-changing challenge learning how to balance academics and sports, and learning how to be a leader in the classroom and on the playing field. Many Fox students have welcomed this challenge, pursuing both educational and athletic excellence. Some are record breakers. Some witnessed how gender equality shook up collegiate sports. And one went on to compete in the Olympics. Below, six Fox alumni share their memories of playing sports during their time at Temple University.
1. Rafael DeLeon, BBA ’10
Major: Marketing
Sport: Basketball (2006-2010)
Current job: TV/Film actor
Fact: DeLeon starred in the Netflix series reboot of Spike Lee’s film “She’s Gotta Have It.”
Best Temple sports memory: “Winning the A-10 college basketball tournament three consecutive years in a row, granting us an automatic bid to the March Madness tournament. We were the first team to win three straight conference titles since UMass in the mid-1990’s.”
2. Steven Flaks, BBA ’88
Major: Accounting
Sport: Gymnastics (1985-1987)
Current job: Director of finance, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Best Temple sports memory: “Winning the Eastern Division Gymnastics Championship as part of the ’85-’86 team and placing second on pommel horse in individual finals. Also sharing in the excitement of Temple basketball reaching No. 1 in the nation in ’88.”
3. Teresa Gozik-Tyson, BS ’85
Major: Accounting
Sport: Volleyball (1981-1985)
Current job: Vice president, credit analyst, Wells Fargo
Fact: Teresa met her husband, an STHM alum, at Temple University. (They have season tickets to Temple football and basketball games.) Also, their daughter earned a BBA from the Fox School and a master’s from STHM, and their son earned a bachelor’s from STHM.
Best Temple sports memory: “The last year female athletes were under the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was 1981, and in 1982 we became part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and this was a result of Title IX, of course. So it was a very exciting time for female athletes at the collegiate level. My best memory of the move to the NCAA was that female athletes got textbooks each semester—we didn’t have to buy them! The university supplied them, and we had to return them at the end of the semester, but we were permitted to keep one book each semester. Also, by my junior year we were traveling further distances (via plane) and competing against larger schools. Life was awesome!”
4. Jennifer Harding, BS ’07
Major: Sport and Recreation Management (STHM)
Sport: Crew (2004-2005)
Current job: Major gifts officer, Villanova University
Fact: Harding is the director-at-large of the Fox School of Business Alumni Association (FSBAA) and co-chair of the events committee.
Best Temple sports memory: “Working for the United States Olympic Committee at the headquarters in Colorado Springs before the 2008 Olympics. Being able to work with the athletes and to see the level of dedication it takes to perform at that level still inspires me today.”
5. Michael J. Moore, BBA ’93
Major: Marketing
Sport: Crew (1989-1991, 1993)
Current job: Partner and chief commercial officer at WillowTree Inc.
Fact: Moore competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Best Temple sports memory: “I have incredible memories from my time at Temple, both on campus and on the river. Winning the Dad Vail four times when the crowds were in the 100,000’s on the banks of the Schuylkill is at the top. Representing Temple at the Royal Henley Regatta in England is right up there, too!”
6. Jim Williams, BS ’66
Major: Business Administration
Sport: Basketball (1963-1966)
Fact: Williams led the Owls in scoring and rebounding from 1963 to 1966, and he was the first player to record over 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career points. In 1976, he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls and won a gold medal in the Pan American Games. He went on to play in the Italian League, where his team won the Italian Basketball Cup.
From court to classroom: “Everything was beneficial. You have to learn to discipline yourself, whether it’s on the field of competition or court, or in the classroom. Without discipline and regular hours of practice, you won’t succeed. I never failed a test I was prepared to take.”
This story was originally published in Fox Focus, the Fox School’s alumni magazine.