University's sports teams are the Owls: a name born from Temple's early days when it was a night school. The sports teams all participate in the NCAA's Division I and the American Athletic Conference (The American). The Owls moved after spending the previous 31 years in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). The field hockey team are affiliate members of the Big East Conference. The Owls are also part of the Philadelphia Big 5, the Philadelphia-area basketball rivalry. Temple University was among the first institutions in the United States to sponsor extracurricular athletic activities for its students when both the football and basketball programs were inaugurated in 1894 under the direction of Coach Charles M. Williams.
=== Football ===
Temple's football program dates back to 1894 and currently plays Division I FBS football in the American Athletic Conference.
On December 17, 2012, Matt Rhule [pronounced rule] was named Temple's 26th head football coach. He had most recently served as the assistant offensive …
