Seeking to capitalize on the University's location in north central Philadelphia, Liacouras sought to market a vision of Temple as the quintessential working class university that would also increasingly appeal to working class suburbanites from the metropolitan Philadelphia area and South Jersey.
The arena houses the intercollegiate basketball teams of the University and other athletics facilities, but a main focal point for its development was the desire of Liacouras to have academic convocations on-campus.
The planning vision to inculcate local businesses along a stretch of the inner main campus was not successfully achieved until after his tenure.
The "Temple Town" concept was sometimes criticized as an effort to insulate the University's main campus from the surrounding north central Philadelphia neighborhood, and his efforts to promote an esprit de corps, having painted messages on wood structures covering decrepit infrastructure adjacent to the University's Broad Street gateway were sometimes ridiculed.
He saw this as part of his strongly held beliefs in urban social and economic development, and a vehicle for successful marketing of the University.
His hiring of John Chaney as head basketball coach—an outspoken critic of the NCAA and advocate for access to higher education—led to many NCAA Tournament appearances for the Temple men's basketball team, including several appearances in the "Elite 8" (notably losing to the Duke Blue Devils in 1999).
His administration frequently included people in executive and staff positions that drew from local and state political circles.