Temple head football coach Stan Drayton reflects on JoAnne A. Epps’ legacy

”The one thing I took from her in a short period of time is just the love she had for this university,” Drayton said.

Temple head coach Stan Drayton reflected on late acting Temple president JoAnne A. Epps' love for the university.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer

by Max Dinenberg

Published Sept. 20, 2023, 7:25 p.m. ET

A day after the sudden death of acting Temple president JoAnne A. Epps, Temple head football coach Stan Drayton began his weekly Temple Talk on 97.5 The Fanatic with his thoughts on her impact on the university.

”Obviously an awesome woman,” he said. “Had a chance to meet her on three occasions. I remember them quite vividly. She made it very clear that she was a season ticket holder for many, many years, and she set her expectations high for the football program.

Show host and voice of Temple football Kevin Copp brought up that Epps attended the Temple tailgates just two weeks ago in Piscataway hours before the Owls took on Rutgers. She spent a lot of time eating food and chatting it up with fans prior to the road matchup.

On Tuesday afternoon, Epps fell ill on stage at a university event. She was taken to a hospital shortly after, where she was later pronounced dead. There was a vigil held at the Bell Tower on Temple’s campus on Wednesday afternoon where hundreds gathered to remember the life of Epps.

”The one thing I took from her in a short period of time is just the love she had for this university,” Drayton said. “I think it’s a sad time but also a time to celebrate life. She left so many good impressions on people on this campus. Old and young, she loved the student body. She loved what this university can do for the lives of young people and she took very good pride in leading this university and its leaders in a direction to make sure that we are setting our young people up for life.”