Taking advantage of a growing enrollment of Chinese students on campus, Temple University is live streaming its men's basketball games in Mandarin.
Chinese students James Yuan and Javi Yuan, who are not related, beat out 18 other prospects for the chance to broadcast the Owls' home games.
According to the Institute of International Education, more than 300,000 Chinese students attended college in the United States last year, which was an 11 percent increase from the previous year. At Temple, Chinese student enrollment has grown from 300 a few years ago to 1,300 this year.
While Temple's international enrollment has increased, the school has taken steps to socially integrate international students in football and basketball, offering Football 101 and Basketball 101, short clinics that teach the games' rules, skills and cheers.
"It's a way to share a flavor of Temple University in a different way -- which is Chinese students having opportunities outside of the classroom and being engage," said Brooke Walker, Temple's vice dean for international students.
Javi, a media and communications major, became a Houston Rockets fan watching the NBA in China and has always wanted to be a broadcaster. James, a freshman from Jinan, lived with a host family in Connecticut during high school where he was introduced to the game.
"By watching basketball, we can now have a common interest so we can overcome the gap between international students and American students," James Yuan said.
James Yuan said the biggest challenge is pronouncing names, avoiding profanity and learning Chinese terms for phrases like "man-on-man defense."
Off the court, the challenge is overcoming a 13-hour time difference between Philadelphia and China. Javi Yuan said it's hard for fans in China to find a link on an American website. Metrics to measure the number of listeners are not available, according to Larry Dougherty, Temple's senior associate athletic director.
James Yuan and Javi Yuan won the "battle of the broadcasters" on Jan. 31, based on judging by Mandarin-speaking faculty, staff and students. Since then, they have become "mini-celebrities on campus," Dougherty said.
"We're all in this for the same goal," said Michael Zahn, a broadcaster for WHIP, the school's online student radio station. "At the end of the day, we just want to put the best product out there -- entertain the fans."
New Gus bus
Imagine taking a recruiting visit and going for a ride in a BMW sports car?
That was the case when Tray Bishop visited Auburn's junior day recruiting event Saturday when Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn took Bishop for a ride in a BMW i8, which features scissor doors and retails for $140,700.
"When Malzahn pulled up, he came over to me and whispered in my ear, 'That's my new ride,' " Bishop said. "He was like, 'Before you leave, I want to spin a few blocks with you.' Before the basketball game he came and got me and told me a little bit about the car and we drove.
"It was crazy. I never pictured myself riding in something like that. I see sports cars all the time, but I've never pictured myself riding, like I got where I wanted to be in life."
Bishop is a 6-3, 193-pound quarterback, who has been rated as the No. 10 athlete in the country by 247Sports Composite. While Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama are also recruiting him, Bishop said believes he'll get a legitimate shot at playing quarterback at Auburn.
If he does, maybe he can credit the ride in Malzahn's BMW.
Sports quiz:
What is Temple's record this season?
Answer:
17-9
Sports on 02/23/2016