By Van Provence, News Reporting Student

After three decades of service to Arkansas State University, Associate Athletic Director Bill Templeton announced his retirement.

In the past 30 years, Templeton said he has seen many changes in intercollegiate sports.

Templeton said one change during his career has been the stressing of academics for student-athletes.

"The biggest overall change, and rightfully so, has been the academics," Templeton said. "Years ago, student-athletes were just called jocks. Today we really encourage the academic side of student-athletics," he said.

Templeton also said ASU's athletic facilities have improved during his tenure.

"It hasn't been that long ago that our facilities were very poor," he said. "We had a very old football stadium, an old place to play basketball, a track made of cinders and that sort of thing,"

Templeton said. "We look around today and see a new football stadium, the Convocation Center, a new baseball park and a twice-renovated track complex. Everyone who comes to our campus comments on how neat and up to date our facilities are," he said.

Templeton said the high point of his career came in the last regular-season football game of the 1968 season when the Tribe was a member of the Southland Conference.

ASU scored a touchdown and converted on a two-point conversion to defeat the University of Texas at Arlington. The Indians claimed their first conference championship.

Templeton also said ASU's first endowment to the Athletic Department was a big event in his career.

"We got our first $25,000 endowment and shortly after that came the first $100,000 endowment," Templeton said. "That really turned me on."

Templeton said the high rate of change in personnel in the Athletic Department and the university has been the biggest disappointment of his career.

"I'm very hopeful now and strongly feel that we've got great leadership at the top and in the Athletic Department." he said.

"People have become more positive about the outlook of the success of the university and the Athletic Department. And I believe that there is nothing but bigger and brighter things in the future for all of us," Templeton said.

He said the future includes affiliation with a conference that encompasses all 13 sports currently fielded at ASU. This conference affiliation would give athletes a chance to earn all-conference honors in football, which is not available currently due to the Indians' independent status in football.

In addition to conference affiliation, Templeton said he hopes to someday see an income of between $1.5 million and $2 million per year through donations and fund raisers.

"That type of money is helpful and needed by our Athletic Department," Templeton said.

During his time at ASU, Templeton said he would like to have seen athletic competition with the University of Arkansas.

"When we played the University of Arkansas in the National Invitational Tournament (in 1987), it pretty much caught the attention of everybody in the state," Templeton said. "I think that pretty much exemplifies the total enthusiasm that can be generated from the two schools playing -- not discounting the economic value it would have on the state," he said.

"I do think it will happen and I was hoping that it would happen during my tenure, but it's not going to," he said.

Following his retirement, Templeton said he plans to work part-time with the Athletic Department on special events.

"I don't ever see me totally severing my ties with ASU," he said. "We are still an embryo in sports, nationwide anyway, and people haven't heard of us. But we're making progress, and that's something that is done over years, not days," Templeton said.

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