TOWSON CENTER MOMENT No. 6 - A Presidential Visit

As I continue counting down my Top 10 moments at the Towson Center, my sixth was highly anticipated but not a done deal until the day before. It all started back in 2010 when I caught wind the Tigers were trying to schedule a 2-for-1 with Oregon State. At first, I wondered why Oregon State? Yes, they are a PAC-12 school, but the Beavers hadn't really been a power since legendary coach Ralph Miller stopped coaching in 1989.

I then noticed that Oregon State had played Howard University in 2010 down in D.C. Why were the Beavers so set coming to the Mid-Atlantic every year? Of course it all made sense once I remembered Head Coach Craig Robinson was the brother of First Lady Michelle Obama. 

So if Towson was to host Oregon State, would the President and First Lady attend? In the spring of 2011 the deal was finalized. The Tigers scheduled Oregon State in the fall of 2011, and Towson would return the game by going out to Corvallis in 2012 and 2013.

Talk swirled around during the summer and the fall. Would the President be at the game?  Everyone assumed it was a given that the First Lady and her daughters would come to see her brother, but what about the President?  Sure, he could plan on being at the Towson Center, but obviously when you are the leader of the free world, your schedule is probably never set in stone.

Another Team Making Towson History
While preparations were going on for on November 26, another exciting story was developing on campus distracting athletic department staff from totally focusing on men's basketball. Rob Ambrose and his football team were shocking the FCS football world by winning the CAA football championship. The Tigers made the FCS playoffs for the first time in school history and won a bid to host a second round playoff game after getting a bye in the first round.

An Electric Few Weeks
Basketball was going to host Oregon State and possibly the President and First Lady on November 26, 2011, and the football team would be hosting its first-ever FCS play-off game the following Saturday at Unitas Stadium. I can't remember in my 33 years of being a part of the Towson family a more electric couple of weeks.

It was a taxing time for certain members of the athletic department, especially Senior Associate Director of Athletics Mike Harris. No one knew for sure until about 48 hours before the Oregon State game whether the President was coming. The Secret Service had to come in and assess the Towson Center and its surrounding area. Poor Mike was with them every step of the way. I'm sure his sleeping patterns were not normal in the days leading up to the game.

Director or New Media Damon Lewis had presidents and football playoffs dancing around in his head. Trying to communicate with Damon that week was futile.  By the end of the football play-off game on December 3, he could have played the lead role in a zombie movie.

The Official Announcement
On Friday November 25 the official word came down that President Obama would become the first sitting President to ever step foot on the Towson University campus. When people began to arrive at the Towson Center that afternoon, you could feel the electricity.  Everyone had to go through security. It was not your typical Towson Center outing.

Game Day
The game did not go the Tigers' way, dropping a 66-46 decision to the Beavers. But regardless of your political bent, when you see a President of the United States in person, it gives you chills. 3119 people attended that game.   am sure everyone one of them will tell their family and friends about the day they saw President Obama in person at the Towson Center. I don't know about everyone, but for me, I glanced the president's way at least three or four times a minute.

It was a special day for everyone who was there. But for a group of young men who had just won the CAA football championship, it was extra special. As they were being honored at halftime for their accomplishments, the president spontaneously ran out to the court to have his picture taken with the champs. A look at that picture and you see nothing but sheer joy on every one of those players and coaches. It was a special day.