BALTIMORE – Brian Yaniger touched generations.
 
Many of those former student-athletes who established a legacy of greatness - along with the current members of the Tigers program, who have raised the bar of excellence – traveled from all over, including as far away as Alabama and Florida, to say thank you to the retiring Towson University golf head coach.
 
Yaniger was affectionately showered with plenty of love, hugs, and cards during what was a retirement celebration, senior tribute, coaching roast, and family reunion rolled into one memorable Sunday afternoon aboard the Raven boat cruise that leisurely sailed across the Patapsco River and underneath the Key Bridge.
 
"This was sensational," said Yaniger, who is stepping down after 20 years. "The memories started returning as soon as I saw many of my former athletes. I really don't know what to say. This turned out better than I thought. Everybody had a great time.
 
"People got to say what they thought and express what the program meant to them. They came and I feel good that they came all this way to be with me today. I hope that I've made a positive impact in their lives beyond golf. The fact that they came says I did. If I did that then this has been a great run."
 
There were many highlights during the three-hour cruise including the announcement of the next head coach, which will be revealed later this week. One of the most meaningful moments was when assistant golf coach Jeff Castle presented Yaniger and his wife, Linda with an all-expense paid trip to Disneyland. Yaniger's face turned beet red as Castle revealed the details of the trip.
 
A little fun in the sun is well deserved for Yaniger, who has been a monument of brilliance at Towson.
 
"Me and Mick(ey Mouse)," Yaniger said eagerly of his upcoming trip. "That's going to be great. When you talk to golfers and places they want to visit, they'll want to go to Pebble Beach, Augusta, or Oak Hill. I want to go to Disneyland. I've been before in the 70's. I am so excited to go again. I am also excited I got a chance to publicly thank my wife, Linda. She's done so much behind the scenes for our program."
 
Most of the members of the first women's golf team in Towson history were in attendance and they couldn't stop sharing funny stories about their experiences riding vans, winning the Marshall tournament, listening to loud music, and receiving life wisdom from Yaniger.
 
Morgan Reich, the first women's golf recruit in Towson history, reflected on the time Yaniger wore a hot black fleece shirt during a tournament in Myrtle Beach despite the 95-degree temperatures. Yaniger's response was "This makes me look thin." She spoke admirably of Yaniger's character, coaching, and charisma during her heartfelt speech.
 
"Coach Yaniger was able to develop a team out of something that didn't exist," Reich said. "When he recruited me, we were really able to develop something special and he had a vision for his program. This event meant a lot to me. I haven't seen a lot of these girls in about six or eight years and this brought us all together. We all knew how special Towson golf was. To be able to come here tonight and celebrate his accomplishments and the ones he made to the University, it meant everything. This was a great opportunity for us to make him feel how we felt, which was special and included."
 
The cruise was a floating history lesson as the evolution of the Towson men's golf program was displayed throughout the boat on gold-colored tablecloths with black-and-white team photos, individual color snapshots of players, old media guides, and newspaper clippings detailing the program's success.
 
In addition there were many legends like Billy Wingerd, Joe Winctsch, Bob Lang, Tom Grem, Josh Upton, and Castle sprinkled throughout the room linking the past to the current team, which is the bridge to a wonderful future.
 
Winctsch and Lang were the two first student-athletes to receive a scholarship to play at Towson before Yaniger took over the program. Grem is the only golf player who is member of Towson Athletics Hall of Fame. Castle and Wingerd were members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) silver anniversary team. Upton was Yaniger's first men's recruit and captain of Towson's first NCAA tournament team in 2000.
 
Members of each of the Tigers' four NCAA tournament qualifying teams enjoyed the experience of being able to salute Yaniger for the impact he's had on their lives on and off the golf course.
 
"A night like this just shows all the love that everybody has for coach," Castle said. "The speech I gave, I got a little emotional in the middle of it. I think everybody feels the same way. The people that were here to support him, they've also supported the program. It was a great event and I think we sent him off the right way. This was fitting and a nice culmination of all of the hard work and effort he put in. It was almost surreal to have everybody together on a boat to enjoy the memories of coach and what he has done for the program."
 
Yaniger told personal stories of each of his senior student-athletes John Hulede, Jimmy Grem, Nicholas Smearman, Juan Veloza, Justin Hormes, and Tyler Silberberg before presenting each with a colorful plaque.
 
Yaniger departs Towson after leading the program to four conference championships, four appearances in the NCAA Tournament and 12 regular season tournament titles. In addition, four of his golfers won conference medalist honors. He coached four First-Team All-CAA selections. Castle and Wingerd were named CAA Golfer of the Year while two others, Alex Brueggeman and Veloza, were chosen as the conference's Rookie of the Year.
  
Yaniger was named CAA Coach of the Year three times (2004, 2005, 2010), America East Coach of the Year twice (1999, 2000) and Towson Coach of the Year for men's sports twice (2005, 2010). In 2005, he was honored as Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. These accolades made him one of the most decorated coaches in Towson's athletics history.
 
This past spring, Towson finished third at the CAA championships after finishing eight-under, which was tied for the fourth lowest three-round score in tournament history. More importantly, the men's golf program was one of five Towson athletic teams to receive Academic Progress Rate Public Recognition Awards.
 
Based on their most recent multiyear Academic Progress Rates, these teams have earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for posting scores in the top 10 percent of their sport. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams.
 
In between thanking several donors, sponsors, Towson administrative staff, and parents, Yaniger ripped off several funny one-liners that comedian Kevin Hart might have to begin worrying about job security. While Yaniger was funny, he was upstaged later in the evening by his good friend and Towson football head coach Rob Ambrose, who brought the house down when referencing Yaniger's lengthy speech that delayed the start of dinner. It was all done in fun.
 
Ambrose mentioned that the success of Towson athletics is because of the people. The respect between the two successful coaches was genuine as they shared a huge embrace.
 
Aside from his big trip to California in the near future, Yaniger already has post-retirement plans.
 
"I am auditioning this week with Steven Colbert," Yaniger said with a laugh. "Steven called me. I said if you force me to, I'll come on up, audition and see if we can work something out.
 
"Seriously, this was sensational to see everybody here. My time at Towson has been rewarding and enjoyable. Having seen the many young men and women that I had the privilege of coaching, graduate and go on to lead productive lives has been an honor."