Dear Tiger Nation,

The dawn of a new athletics year at Towson University is about to shine through, and I hope that you are as excited as I am about the potential that this new year has to offer. Soon our first-year Tigers will report to campus for fall sports preseason camps as soccer, cross country, field hockey, volleyball and football begin their preparations for the 2012 seasons. It's a great time to be a Towson Tiger, and I look forward to seeing you on campus for events throughout the year.

2012-13 will be a year of major events, starting with the inaugural Minnegan Day on September 4. Since my arrival almost two years ago I have learned a lot about the man Donald “Doc” Minnegan and wanted to see his legacy emboldened here on campus, especially with our student-athletes who represent Towson competitively. Earlier this summer, we dedicated a wall outside of the Minnegan Room in the Field House which outlines Doc's influence on sport here at Towson, as well as nationally. As we move towards Minnegan Day we will be announcing several events which address leadership development with our Tigers. The main public event will take place in the West Village Commons at 7 p.m. when we welcome Coach Herman Boone of Remember the Titans fame to campus to speak on leadership, diversity and overcoming the odds. I hope that you will make time on your schedule to join us as we look to establish Minnegan Day as a new tradition here on campus, honoring our past and focusing on our championships – present and future.

As we look forward I want to thank the leadership of the Tiger Club for providing perspective and feedback on the future of Towson Athletics. Over the past few months these dedicated TU patrons have taken time out of their summer schedules to discuss where we are as a Department and where we are going in the future.  It's a critical time in college athletics overall and we must have a strategic plan moving forward that affords Towson the opportunity to compete for championships and to provide a commensurate collegiate athletics experience to our student-athletes comparatively to the best of the best of our peers. 

One of our points of emphasis for 2012-13 is to seek out an “institutional vision” for Towson Athletics. Only through broad-based, campus support will Towson be able to establish a strong foundation athletically. To this end President Loeschke and I are excited to welcome Todd Turner to our department as a strategic consultant. Mr. Turner has held the position of Director of Athletics at four major NCAA Division I Universities over a 21-year period and is the only athletics administrator to have worked as an AD in four of the six BCS Conferences. Todd is most noted for his work on NCAA Academic reform while at Vanderbilt University. In 2002, he was appointed as Chair of the NCAA Working Group on Academic Incentives and Disincentives which developed and recommended the fundamental principles that led to the creation of the Academic Progress Rate (APR) used today by the NCAA as the metric for measuring academic performance. Turner is a past President of the Division 1A Athletics Director's Association and a member of the Association's Board of Directors. He also authored the Association's “Code of Ethics” and “Statement of Core Values” for Division 1A Directors of Athletics which are foundational documents for the profession.

Over the next four months Todd will be on campus and will assist our Strategic Planning Committee and the Athletics Working Group with the construction our new campus vision for Athletics.

As you may have read in the paper last week, Coach Ambrose and the Towson football
team were picked to finish first in the Colonial Athletic Association by the league's media. There are just 29 days left until the season opener, so I encourage you now to make your plans to join us for our five exciting football game days this fall at Unitas Stadium. Season tickets are double our all-time high already so call in soon to 1-855-TU-TIGER or go online to TowsonTigers.com to make sure you have the best seats available.

Football is just the tip of the iceberg as our six fall sports get rolling. Men's Soccer gets the home slate of games started on Aug. 24 as they host Monmouth at 5 p.m. at the Tiger Soccer Complex. Volleyball officially kicks off the final season of the Towson Center when they host cross-town rival Loyola at 7 p.m. on Aug. 28. The rest of the teams don't play their home openers until September, but keep checking back throughout the month toTowsonTigers.com as the media relations staff will be previewing all the seasons ahead with weekly updates from training camp.

Below is a quick rundown of each team's season and home opener.

As most of you already know 2011-12 was a banner year for the Tiger Club. We thank each of you again for your generous support of the Department. You helped us attain our goal of more than 1,500 donors and we surpassed the annual giving total from the previous year. That is another step along the way as we strive to provide our student-athletes all of the resources they need to attain greatness on the field of competition and in the classroom. For us to hit our stride and to EXPECT SUCCESS, we need to continue to grow our base. This year we want to reach farther … we need your help Tiger Nation to grow the Tiger Club donor membership to 2,013 in 2013. If you haven't already joined or know someone that is interested in joining, please direct them to www.TigerClub.net. For as little as $50 a year, you can help make a difference in the life of our Towson Tigers.

Thank you again for all of your support and we look forward to seeing everyone back on campus this fall as we kick off the start of what will be a great year for Towson Athletics.

With Black and Gold Pride...

Mike Waddell
Director of Athletics | Towson University
E-Mail: mwaddell@towson.edu
Ticket Office: 1-855-TUTIGER (1-855-888-4437)
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