Golf Coach John MacDonald To Step Down After 30th Season ::

PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 26) - John MacDonald will step down from his position as

head coach of the Temple University golf team effective June 30, 2001,

it was announced today by Director of Athletics Dave O'Brien. MacDonald

is currently in his 30th season at the Owl helm. The University has yet

to name a successor.

"I intend to share the virtues of the game with urban youth in and

around Philadelphia," said MacDonald. "I believe there are other Tiger

Woods types out there, and I want to help find them. In my opinion, all

youth deserve a chance to experience the game."

MacDonald serves as president and CEO of Impact Services

Corporation, an organization that has assisted many thousands of

low-income individuals in need to move forward with their lives. He also

serves as executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Golf

Association.

"John is simply irreplaceable, both as a golf coach and mentor to

young people," said O'Brien. "It is not often a person stays true to his

dreams for 30 years, but John has done it. This next step is simply a

continuation of John's social commitment to bring golf to urban

youngsters. Our golf team will miss his expertise and leadership, but

his next endeavor is more important. We look forward to working with

John and helping him to realize his dreams. We also thank him for

positively influencing so many young lives."

Although MacDonald has tendered his resignation as head coach, his

presence will remain with the program as a volunteer consultant. In this

capacity, he will provide the Owls with assistance in the areas of

scheduling, contest management and facility arrangements for both

practice and competition.

MacDonald's teams brought seven Atlantic 10 Conference

championships to Temple University, the most recent in the 1994-95

season. He also coached the Owls to five East Coast Conference titles,

two Middle Atlantic Conference crowns and seven Eastern championships.

When the Temple golf program regularly competed in dual-match

competition between 1972 and 1985, MacDonald's teams posted nine

undefeated seasons and never finished lower than second in the Atlantic

10. His coaching record during the period was a phenomenal 139-9, a

winning percentage of .939.

Fourteen of MacDonald's Temple teams qualified for the NCAA

championships; seven earned berths in the NCAA East Regional; and four

team members qualified for the national tournament on three additional

occasions. In 23 of his 29 seasons at Temple, the Owls have been

represented in the national tournament. Eleven of MacDonald's Temple

golfers earned All-American honors a total of 22 times. Two of his

players were honored twice each with Academic All-American honors. He

was named the NCAA District II Coach of the Year 12 times.

A 1965 graduate of Temple University who went on to earn his

master's degree at the University in Education, MacDonald lettered in

soccer from 1962 through 1964 and in golf from 1963 through 1965. In his

senior year, he captained both teams and was also named the Most

Valuable Player in each sport. He was selected to the Regional

All-America soccer team in 1964.

In 1987, MacDonald received the highest honor the Department of

Athletics can bestow upon an individual when he was inducted to the

Temple University Athletic Hall of Fame. Along with John Dyniewski, he

is one of just two golfers so honored. He is also a member of the Golf

Coaches of America Hall of Fame.

MacDonald and his wife, Mary, recently moved to Marlton, New

Jersey. His older son, Bryan, is a magna cum laude graduate of the

Temple University Fox Business School and works as a chief marketing

officer for Kemper Auto and Home Insurance Company. His daughter, Kim, a

graduate of the Temple University Nursing Program, serves as a nurse at

St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. Younger son David graduated

from West Chester University in the spring of 1995 following a highly

successful collegiate football career and is working in sales with New

Jersey Legal Copy. The MacDonalds are the proud grandparents of four

grandchildren.