TOWSON, Md. – After completing the best turnaround in NCAA FCS football, Towson University is ranked ninth in the final NCAA FCS The Sports Network/Fathead.com College Football Weekly Poll, which was announced on Monday.
The Tigers finished the season with a 9-3 record, won their first Colonial Athletic Association championship and made their first-ever NCAA FCS playoff appearance this season. Ranked eighth in the final poll of the regular season, the Tigers were ranked among the Top 25 for the ninth consecutive poll.
“This is a great testament to the hard work done by the members of our football program this past season,” says Coach Rob Ambrose, who was honored as the winner of the Eddie Robinson Award as the NCAA FCS Coach of the Year on Friday night. “To finish in the top ten gives Towson University a substantial amount of national recognition in a way that has yet to be done at this level. This announcement puts a finishing stamp on a great year that we can continue building upon. It's a great time to be a Tiger.”
Picked to finish last in the CAA's pre-season poll, the Tigers were the most surprising team in NCAA FCS football this year. After finishing last in the conference the last three years, the Tigers posted a 7-1 CAA record to win their first championship. On their way to the CAA title, the Tigers beat six CAA teams that were nationally-ranked at the time of the game. The Tigers posted wins over No. 20 Villanova (31-10), No. 14 Richmond (31-28), No. 18 Old Dominion (39-35), No. 14 William and Mary (38-27), No. 7 Maine (40-30) and No. 7 New Hampshire (56-42) before clinching the CAA championship with a 28-17 win at Rhode Island.
When the Tigers made their NCAA FCS playoff debut, they became the first team in NCAA history to qualify for the NCAA playoffs at three different levels. In their first-ever NCAA FCS playoff game, the Tigers dropped a 40-38 heart-breaker to Lehigh before a sell-out crowd at Johnny Unitas® Stadium. Towson was selected to play in the NCAA Division III playoffs in 1976. The Tigers qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1983, 1984 and 1986.
North Dakota State, which beat Sam Houston State in the national championship game, finished the season with a 14-1 record. The Bison were ranked number one in the final poll. Sam Houston State was ranked second.
The Tigers were one of six CAA teams listed in the final poll. Maine, which earned an NCAA playoff win over Appalachian State, was ranked eighth. Towson is ninth, just ahead of No. 10 Old Dominion and No. 11 New Hampshire. No. 15 James Madison and No. 17 Delaware were also ranked among the Top 25 teams.
Season ticket prices have been officially announced for the 2012 Tiger football season. The defending CAA champions will play an attractive five-game home schedule at Unitas Stadium. Gold Chair Back season tickets for the Tigers' home schedule are priced at $80 while adult season tickets can be purchased for $55. Youth (ages 2-12) season tickets will cost $35 each.
Season ticket holders renewing or purchasing seats in Sections 111 or 211 (Gold Chair Back) of Unitas Stadium will be required to make a Tiger Club Donation of $50 and $100, respectively. A separate invoice will be sent out for these locations with the minimum donation level requirement listed following the end of the current Tiger Club membership period (July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012).
Towson University faculty and staff members and senior citizens (65 and over) can purchase season tickets for $35 each.
For season ticket information, call 1-855-TU-TIGER.
The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top-25 College Football Poll
| Team (First Place Votes) |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1- North Dakota State (125) |
14-1 |
3,125 |
4 |
| 2- Sam Houston State |
14-1 |
2,998 |
1 |
| 3- Montana |
11-3 |
2,801 |
5 |
| 4- Georgia Southern |
11-3 |
2,795 |
3 |
| 5- Lehigh |
11-2 |
2,466 |
6 |
| 6- Northern Iowa |
10-3 |
2,455 |
2 |
| 7- Montana State |
10-3 |
2,387 |
7 |
| 8- Maine |
9-4 |
2,105 |
13 |
| 9- TOWSON |
9-3 |
2,058 |
8 |
| 10- Old Dominion |
10-3 |
2,009 |
10 |
| 11- New Hampshire |
8-4 |
1,869 |
11 |
| 12- Appalachian State |
8-4 |
1,825 |
9 |
| 13- Wofford |
8-4 |
1,651 |
12 |
| 14- Central Arkansas |
9-4 |
1,411 |
15 |
| 15- James Madison |
8-5 |
1,307 |
17 |
| 16- Harvard |
9-1 |
996 |
16 |
| 17- Delaware |
7-4 |
961 |
14 |
| 18- Stony Brook |
9-4 |
957 |
22 |
| 19- Norfolk State |
9-3 |
829 |
19 |
| 20- Illinois State |
7-4 |
694 |
18 |
| 21- Tennessee Tech |
7-4 |
669 |
21 |
| 22- Jackson State |
9-2 |
523 |
20 |
| 23- North Dakota |
8-3 |
371 |
23 |
| 24- Eastern Kentucky |
7-5 |
298 |
NR |
| 25- Liberty |
7-4 |
215 |
24 |
Others receiving votes: Albany 214, Jacksonville State 151, San Diego 74, Furman 59, Grambling State 48, Bethune-Cookman 44, Alabama State 42, Drake 37, Duquesne 26, Southern Utah 21, Portland State 21, Cal Poly 20, Eastern Washington 19, William & Mary 13, Murray State 12, Tennessee State 8, South Dakota 8, Youngstown State 7, Georgetown 6, Alabama A&M 5, Brown 5, Chattanooga 4, South Carolina State 3, Stephen F. Austin 2, Indiana State 1
The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 Voters: The Sports Network: Aaron Corrill; Craig Haley; Sean Shapiro; Phil Sokol; Kevin Spiegel. Big Sky: Brian Berger; Brad Bugger; Dave Cook; Matt Gerrish; Paul Grua; Mick Holien; Jon Kasper; Heather Kennedy; Bill Lamberty; Jeff Lasky; Mike Lund; Scott Marsh; Fritz Neighbor; Steve Schaack; Steve Shaff; Mitch Strohman. Big South: John Avery; Mike Cawood; Adam Gutes; Matt Hogue; Chris Lang; Marc Rabb; Mark Simpson; Todd Wetmore; Alan York. CAA Football: Ted Alexander; Mike Barber; Pete Clawson; Mike DeGeorge; Glenn Frazer; Dean Kenefick; Allen Lessels; Andrew Mahoney; John Martin; Scott Meyer; Mike Murphy; Dan O'Connell; Rich Radford; Scott Selheimer; Kevin Tresolini; Matt Vautour; Kimberly Zivkovich. Great West: Eric Burdick; Ryan Burns; Jacque Cottrell; Neil Gardner; Ed Grom; Jeremy Hoeck; Doug Kelly; Ryan Powell; Randy Scovil; Kit Strief. Independents: Dave Cohen; Brian Fremund; Rick Poulter; Kyle Stephens; Tyler Mayforth. Ivy League: Rick Bender; Eric Dolan; Chris Humm; Craig Larson; Dan Loney; Kurt Svoboda; Ron Vaccaro. MEAC: Thomas Grant; Bill Hamilton; Ed Hill Jr.; Chris Hooks; Dennis Jones; Matt Michalec; Eric Moore; Patricia Porter; Dan Ryan; Michael Stambaugh; Maurice Williams; Brent Woronoff. Missouri Valley Football Conference: John Bohnenkamp; Jason Hove; Todd Hefferman; Ace Hunt; Mike Kern; Rick Kindhart; Colin McDonough; Tyler Merriam; Patrick Osterman; Trevor Parks; Randy Reinhardt; Jeff Schwartz; Mike Williams; Terry Vandrovec. Northeast Conference: Brian DePasquale; Jim Duzyk; Matt Harmon; John McCarthy; Andrew Santillo; Chris Shovlin; Jason Sullivan; Ralph Ventre; Greg Viscomi. Ohio Valley Conference: Neal Bradley; John Brush; Michael Clark; Wallace Dooley; Jeff Honza; Brad Kirtley; Joe Lofaro; Russell Luna; Rich Moser: Brian Nielsen: Karl Park: Mike Parris: Rob Schabert: Kyle Schwartz: Greg Seitz: James Horne. Patriot League: Charles Bare; Bill Bowman; Joe DiBari; Matt Dougherty; Keith Groller; Jeremiah Hergott; Phil LaBella; Steve Lomangino; Eric Malanowski; Matt Markus. Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush; Jack Cronin; Mike Ferraro; Marc Gignac; Ted Gosen; Doug Hauschild; Paul Kirk; James Nasella; Terry Norvelle; Joe Prisco; Matt Schabert; Matt Segal; Ryan Wronkowicz. Southern Conference: Jay Blackman; Tommy Bowman; Mike Flynn; Barrett Gilham; Don Heath; David Jackson; Joey Mullins; Tyler Norris Goode; Noelle Orr-Blaney; Chris Rash; Adam Smith; Brent Williamson. Southland Conference: Jason Barfield; Louis Bonnette; Jamie Bustos; James Dixon; Kevin Gore; Alex Hickey; Doug Ireland; Todd Lamb; Brent St. Germain; Matt Sullivan. Southwestern Athletic Conference: Santoria Black; Rodney Bush; Natalie Hicks; Leonard Moon; Wesley Peterson; Brandon Willis. Other Representatives: Rolf Bertulies; Brian Brennan; Josh Buchanan; LeCounte Conaway; Jim Seman.
