With Football Season, Towson U. Sees Engagement Opportunity

Winning solves a lot of problems.

Just ask the folks at , where the football team's success in 2011 is translating this year into higher expectations, national attention and community support the likes of which the program has never seen.

The Tigers open their season Aug. 30 at Kent State, then host their home opener Sept. 15 against William and Mary, which will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network.

"Never in the history of this university will more eyes be focused on Towson than there will be on Sept. 15," said Mike Waddell, who has served as Towson's director of athletics .

Towson (9-3 in 2011), picked to finish last in the perennially-tough Colonial Athletic Association at last season's media day, goes into this season as defending CAA champion and one of the top stories in the Football Championship Subdivision.

"We're not going to be underdogs too many times this year, if you believe what polls say," Waddell said. "Generally I don't. Any poll that had us picked last last year or first this year has about as much relevance at the end of the year, meaning none at all."

Ranked or not, Towson's story is also gathering attention across the community.

Perhaps the first hint that the times were changing came last December. Before the Towson team took the field for their second-round playoff game against Lehigh (their first playoff game at the FCS level), residents and business leaders for the first time on the parking lot outside the Towson Center.

"We've never done anything like that before," said Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce. "And I think it really opened the eyes of a lot of people that Towson University is a vital economic engine in our community, and they have a lot of events that we've really missed enjoying because people just forget."

It was a notable detente on the site where, just several years ago, the long-planned new arena was supposed to be built until community furor led leaders to compromise.

It was mere months ago that the university made national headlines for snapping a NCAA-record losing streak in men's basketball, and just before that that the Tigers were in newspapers around the world .

"We had things in the London Daily Mail. When Towson University is in the London Daily Mail, that's a big deal," Waddell said. "Even though we had the longest losing streak in college basketball, people finally learned that we were Towson and not Towson State."

Showing results

Waddell said Towson is looking at marketing initiatives and expanded branding to help turn those new fans and families into ticket buyers.

From starting music at Johnny Unitas Stadium several hours ahead of time to adding inflatables for kids to setting most of their gametimes at night, Waddell said everything his department does is aimed at crafting a unique atmosphere, adding that not a lot of family events in the fall take place at night.

"If you play a game at noon or at 3:30, it's a lot harder to bring those kids out," he said.

Mike Harris, the senior associate director of athletics for external operations, said season ticket sales are on pace to reach 1,000 for the first time, compared to 429 in 2011 and approximately 300 in 2010.

Harris attributes many of the new sales to nearby families, as well as Towson's network of alumni, but also to the department's marketing efforts, which included stops at events like the Towsontown Spring Festival and the . The department has even offered up its athletes to help with dumpster days and school fundraisers in neighboring Rodgers Forge.

The increase in sales "also shows this community is embracing the Towson football program, Coach (Rob) Ambrose and everything we're trying to do," Harris said. "We're building something here that we want to get people involved with and we want people to come on a regular basis."

Off the field, businesses are preparing for another spike in football-related activity.

"I have certainly seen a sharp increase in the number of advance reservations that we typically get around this time of year for the football weekends," said David Hinshaw, general manager of the . "They're pacing almost 20 percent, maybe 25 percent trending above what they typically do this time of year."

A few more sellout crowds like the ones seen for the Lehigh game would mean more people in hotels like Hinshaw's and a few more families in area restaurants, said Hafford.

Future partnerships

Last year, to the Towson Recreation Council. The university also hosts MIAA championships in sports including football and lacrosse. Waddell has also approached Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association officials about the possibility of moving their championships up from College Park to Towson.

"I don't for the life of me understand why anyone would want to go the Comcast Center, which has 15,000-16,000 seats for an event that's going to draw 2,000 or 3,000 people," he said. "It just isn't a great event. Why would you come to Byrd Stadium, which has that capacity, instead of coming to Unitas Stadium?"

Johnny Unitas Stadium seats about 11,000. Tiger Arena, now under construction and set to open next year, will seat 5,000.

Similarly, in 2011, the university hosted the annual between Loyola and Calvert Hall. Those two teams typically have a Thanksgiving date at M&T Bank Stadium, but Waddell said he'd like to have them back.

"From what I heard from the kids who played in that game, it was their fav Turkey Bowl of all time. Everybody loves playing at M&T Bank Stadium because of what it is," he said. "But at the end of the day, when you're playing for a sellout crowd, it's just a different atmosphere."

But speaking of M&T Bank Stadium, Waddell said the Ravens' stadium figures into Towson's own potential NCAA playoff game bids. He has also spoken with Ravens and Morgan State officials about the idea of hosting an annual game there, with proceeds to benefit youth football in Baltimore.

Waddell has also been working with city, state and CAA officials on the possibility of bringing the conference's men's basketball tournament to 1st Mariner Arena. The conference has a contract to use the Richmond Coliseum through 2014. He said conference officials were "blown away" in a visit to Baltimore.

"There is no home team in Richmond anymore," Waddell said, after University of Richmond and, more recently, Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion left the league. "Maybe it's time there's opportunity for other cities and municipalities to get involved in the relocating of this signature event for the league."

Winning that bid would put Towson and Baltimore on a national stage headed into the NCAA basketball playoffs. But until then, Waddell, a Parkton resident, said he's focused on growing the brand locally, putting more Towson-branded gear in stores and getting more Towson fans, young and old, involved in the up and coming programs.

"To see kids at youth games and at high school events and at middle school events, where my kids play and to see kids wearing Towson gear and wanting to wear that, that's great," he said. "To see more and more alumni coming back to campus and showing interest in what's going on here in the most important mission of the university, academics, and maybe athletics has played a large part in drawing them back to campus, that's the whole purpose of what we are."

Towson University opens its football season at Kent State on Thursday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. The game will be aired on Comcast SportsNet. The program hosts a at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Saturday.

How are you feeling ahead of Towson's football season? What has been the impact of the program's resurgence on the community? Tell us in the comments!