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By Alexandra Simon
/ CBS Philadelphia
The Temple University athletic department announced Sunday that head coach Stan Drayton is leaving the Owl football program after nearly three seasons with the team. 
In a statement, Director of Athletics Arthur Johnson thanked Coach Drayton “for his commitment to Temple University, our student-athletes and the football program” during his tenure. “Under his direction, our student-athletes have excelled in the classroom, been outstanding members of the community and Coach Drayton has represented the University with a tremendous amount of integrity and class. I wish him and his family well in their future endeavors,” Johnson said.
Drayton was hired by Temple in December 2021 after spending five seasons as associated head coach at Texas. He also had stints at Villanova, Penn and his alma mater Allegheny (Pa.) College throughout his 30 years of coaching.
“I appreciate the opportunity that I was given to lead a great group of young men at Temple University,” Drayton said in a statement released by the school. “I wish them nothing but the best in football and in life.”
Drayton was relieved of his coaching duties one day after the now 3-7 Owls beat Florida Atlantic University 18-15 in overtime. Temple is currently sitting in 11th place in the American Athletic Conference.
“With the changing landscape of college football and the playoff format, the opportunity for Temple football has never been greater,” Johnson added. “Our expectation is to compete for American Athletic Conference titles, appear in bowl games consistently, and build a program that our fans, alumni, and students can be proud of in the classroom and on the field.”
Temple has gone almost five years without a bowl game appearance. The Owls appeared in bowl games every year from 2015-2019, and won just once in 2017 over Florida International.
The Owls have two regular season games left on their schedule on Friday, Nov. 22 at the University of Texas at San Antonio and Saturday, Nov. 30 against North Texas. Defensive coordinator Everett Withers will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Alexandra Simon is a digital content producer at CBS Philadelphia. Alex started her career at CBS21 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania before joining KARE 11 News in Minneapolis, where she covered breaking news, features and often cold weather.
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