Six years ago, Ryan Day was part of a Temple football program that was buried and all but given up for dead in the world of big-time college football.

The Owls had just been booted out of the Big East for not being competitive — the first program ever to be kicked out of the conference — after going 14-73 in conference games over a course of 13 years, and spent the 2005 season as an independent playing a schedule that may have been the toughest in the country that year. Predictably, things didn't go well as the Owls went 0-11 and lost their final two games by a combined score of 128-16.

Things weren't much better in 2006 as Temple went 1-11 in 2006 and Day, the wide receivers coach, left after the season to take the same position at Boston College.

Well, Day is back in Philadelphia, returning to Temple this year as the team's offensive coordinator. A lot has happened to the program and the school since Day was last there and the results have been eye-catching.

“The buildings are different, the facilities are different and socially, it's completely different,” Day said. “This is the hot place to be. Philadelphia is rallying around us.”

It's funny what winning will do.

The Owls look intent on proving they belong in the Big East this time around, despite Saturday's 35-10 loss to a Rutgers team ranked 15th in the latest BCS standings.

Temple went into the game with a 3-2 record with wins over South Florida and UConn in their first two Big East games since be re-admitted.

“There's a lot of excitement,” Day said of the atmosphere before Saturday's game against Rutgers. “It's the first time we won two Big East games in a row.”

And while Day may be closely associated with another Manchester native and Central High quarterback — Oregon coach Chip Kelly — the Owls won't be confused with Kelly's Ducks, who put up 43 points Thursday against Arizona State before the game was even 20 minutes old.

“What we're doing is completely different,” Day said.

Day may have played for Kelly and eventually served under him as a coach while Kelly was still the offensive coordinator at the University of New Hampshire, but he also was on the staff at the University of Florida when current Temple head coach Steve Addazio was the offensive coordinator for Urban Meyer. Day said Addazio likes to control the clock through run possession, so it should be no surprise that Temple's strength is its running backs.

“I've been exposed to some great offensive minds,” Day said, “but you have to find what best fits your personnel. That could change on a year-to-year basis. You have to do what's right by the guys you have.”

Day said what he is learning in his first year as an offensive coordinator that the easiest part of the job is calling the plays on game day. He said the preparation and practice that goes into getting the players ready during the week is the real challenge of the job.

So far, Day has proven to be up to the challenge.

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NICE IN THE NAC: This is Year Two in the North Atlantic Conference for Colby-Sawyer College of New London and New England College of Henniker and the transition seems to be going well.

What amounted to a power play among the stronger teams in Commonwealth Coast Conference to clear out the weaker programs led to Colby-Sawyer and NEC joining the NAC, which had previously been made up of colleges in Maine and Vermont.

NEC was targeted in the CCC mutiny, but Colby-Sawyer was actually one of the colleges invited to join in the clandestine dealings. Colby-Sawyer president Tom Galligan refused, in part to a loyalty he felt toward NEC and the relationship the schools have built over the years. Instead, the two schools jumped to the NAC.

Judging by results so far, the move — which some coaches at Colby-Sawyer felt was a step down — seems to have gone well for both schools. The Chargers have been predictably good in most sports, but not dominant, while the Pilgrims seemed to have found their level.

This fall, NEC is strongly contending for conference titles in field hockey and men's soccer, while Colby-Sawyer is having a standout season in women's soccer and was in the running for bids to the NCAA Division III tournament in men's and women's tennis.

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THE ART OF IMPROVISATION: Thumbs down to Yale for taking back a kicking tee it reportedly was going to allow Dartmouth to use after the Big Green left their tee at home for last week's game in New Haven.

Thumbs up to Dartmouth's backup kicker, R.C. Willenbrock, for fashioning a makeshift tee out of a plastic water bottle moments before the game. Dartmouth kicker Riley Lyons used the tee seven times, averaging 60 yards on his kickoffs with two touchbacks.

The Big Green realized they forgot the tee right before getting ready to warm up. A Yale equipment manager lent them a tee, but Yale coach Tony Reno reportedly crossed the field 15 minutes before the game and took the tee back. Can't wait for his next speech on sportsmanship.

The Yale side reportedly suspected Dartmouth of questioning the eligibility of Yale running back Tyler Varga. Varga sat out against the Big Green while waiting to be cleared by the NCAA.

The back and forth was nasty enough for Robin Harris, executive director of the Council of Ivy League Presidents, to issue a statement saying Dartmouth and coach Buddy Teevens did not turn Yale in to NCAA. The statement came out the Monday before the game, but that apparently did not satisfy Reno's suspicions.

And, oh, by the way, Dartmouth won the game, 34-14.

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THE BEYOND THE BORDERS SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON: Kate Mahoney of Kingston (Central Catholic). The freshman goalkeeper for Wilkes University was named the ECAC Division III South defensive player of the week in women's soccer after stretching her shutout streak to three games. The Lady Colonels went into Saturday's game against Manhattanville at 9-4-2 and tied for second in the Freedom Conference and Mahoney was a big reason why. She had six shutouts for the season and had a goals against average of 0.52, ranking second in the conference in goals against average and save percentage (.889).

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Jim Fennell may be reached at jfennell@unionleader.com.