TOWSON, Md. - On Tuesday afternoon, the Tigers returned to Unitas Stadium to conduct their 14th practice of the pre-season. Coach Rob Ambrose ran his players through a workout session that lasted just under two hours and 30 minutes.
While Coach Ambrose and his staff run the practice sessions, everything that sets up the practice is the domain of Jon Dahlquist, the Tigers' Director of Operations.
According to Coach Ambrose, "Jon is the head coach without the X's and O's. He is my right arm and we are constantly communicating. Jon does all the work behind-the-scenes. He does travel arrangements, he arranges practice times and he handles administrative duties.
Ambrose calls Dahlquist "another first for the Tiger football program." In his fourth season as the Tigers' Director of Football Operations, he is the first person to hold the position at Towson. When Coach Ambrose came to Towson from the University of Connecticut, he brought the Worcester, Mass. native with him.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut, he spent two years as the Huskies' Director of Football Operations.
"A lot of our success can be attributed to Jon Dahlquist," adds Ambrose. "He is so dedicated and this program is very important to him. Because of Jon, the coaches don't have to get bogged down with administrative stuff. He gives us more time to recruit and prepare a game plan and coach."
The Director of Operations positions were added to football staffs about 20 years ago. Coach Ambrose explains, "The duties of a head coach were becoming overwhelming. So, the idea was to create positions that helped the head coach handle all the administrative duties and detail work. In that manner, the head coach was freed up to do all the things like media interviews and fund-raising and things like that."
Season tickets for Towson University football are on sale now by calling the Athletics Ticket Office at 1-855-TU-TIGER or going online to TowsonTigers.com. Season ticket packages begin at $55 per seat.
