Scratch Al Golden off the list

For those of you that believe Temple football coach Al Golden could take the reins after Joe Paterno retires in 10 or 15 years you might want to rethink that.

The NCAA's annual academic progress report was released Tuesday. It showed more than 700 teams fell short of the mandated cut score.

When a team does not improve, the punishments can become harsher with three consecutive scores under 900 leading to a postseason ban. A fourth consecutive offense would prevent them from competing at the Division I level.

Most names are from smaller schools like Florida International or Montana State-Bozeman but right in the thick of things is Al Golden's football team. Golden has been at Temple for three years and started off with a very young team (read: his guys) so it's obvious that Golden doesn't hold his players to the same academic scrutiny that Penn State would prefer. Without a doubt the next head coach at Penn State must carry on the tradition of excellence in the classroom, there's no wiggle room on that aspect of the job. While Penn State may have had their share of off-the-field incidents the last couple years Paterno hasn't let up on the teams academic requirements.

Editor's Note: I jumped on this waaayyy too early with little research and as it turns out am completely wrong about Golden. As RUTS points out from the Philadelphia Daily News

Since Al Golden took over as Temple's football coach in December 2005, there have been no eligibility issues. Still, the program again has been cited for academic failings that took place before his arrival on North Broad Street.

Yesterday, the NCAA announced the fourth-year Academic Progress Rates for all division I teams. And the Owls have lost four scholarships. The penalties last for 1 year, and there's every expectation that all four will be reinstated at that time.

Two years ago the Owls lost nine scholarships, for similar reasons. Twelve months later, they had every one back. The APR score of student-athletes recruited by Golden is 980, well above the minimum of 925.

There's also this from his bio:

With a commitment to community service and academics at the core of Golden's program, a multitude of individual honors were bestowed upon the Owls in 2006. Seven student-athletes were named to the 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Football team, providing Temple the most honorees of the 10 Delaware Valley institutions that sponsor football.

And I mistakenly gave him credit for an extra year, Golden's only been at Temple for two years. So yeah, forget what I said. Man, what was I drinking last night? Paint thinner?!?