Towson Faithful, 
 
This week marks the end of the Fall semester here at Towson with our students beginning final exams. Our winter sports are fully underway, and we have much to be thankful for as we reflect on our fall season. The intent behind this quarterly communication with you is to remain transparent and bring awareness to what is going on behind the scenes of Towson Athletics. While the accomplishments of our student-athletes on the playing fields may garner attention, we also want to share the work that is being done to elevate this department each and every day. 
 
Over the summer and through the fall, our Executive Leadership Team has been working hard to articulate our priorities as a department and transition them into measurable goals. With this framework laid out, we will be positioned to evaluate our progress towards these goals on a regular basis to ensure that Towson Athletics is making strides to become the best version of itself.  
 
As a biproduct of this process, we are excited to share our five-year goals with you to better communicate the direction and aspirations of Towson Athletics. This document will serve as a sort of North Star for our department and as we continue to send these Vision of the Division updates to you, we will update you with our progress towards these goals. There are seven key areas of focus within the framework as outlined below: 

• Academic Success & Student-Athlete Development 
• Brand Advancement 
• Competitive Success 
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging 
• Facilities 
• Resource Management and Revenue Generation 
• Student-Athlete Well-Being 
• Related to the above, please enjoy some of the following important strides we have made this fall towards our five-year goals. 

Competitive Success  
Congratulations to our women's soccer program guided by Head Coach Katherine Vettori. Her team set a program record with 15 wins, won their first CAA regular season title and topped it off with a thrilling victory in the CAA Tournament Championship game to earn the program's first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament where they battled University of North Carolina so valiantly.  
 
Don Metil and women's volleyball continued their historic run, capturing their fifth straight CAA regular season crown. While they fell just short in the CAA Tournament Championship game, this is a program that has set a standard of excellence that our entire department can look up to. Coach Pete Shinnick wrapped up his first season leading our football program with five wins that included two victories over ranked opponents on the road. The future is very bright under his leadership, and we are all very excited to see the way in which his program will take shape. Our other first year head coach, Katie Salem concluded her first campaign at the helm of Field Hockey picking up six wins. There was great energy all season long at the TU Field Hockey complex and I'm excited for where this sport is headed.  
 
Brand Advancement 
We have sealed a deal with Monumental Sports Network, formerly NBC Sports Washington, that aired four Towson football games and three volleyball matches this past fall and will broadcast seven men's basketball and five women's basketball games this winter. We are also announcing an agreement today with MeTV Baltimore to televise three men's basketball conference games. Twelve of our 14 men's home games will now be televised on linear television with two airing on CBS Sports Network. In all the Tigers will make a total of 23 appearances on linear TV this basketball season. This important stride provides exposure to our Towson brand across the Mid-Atlantic, getting our broadcasts into households throughout a seven-state footprint in our region. 
 
Student-Athlete Experience 
Our staff comes to work each day to help TU's student-athletes thrive and have a great experience. We have executed some engaging programming this fall within our Student-Athlete Development Cohorts surrounding Name, Image and Likeness, Networking Night with former TU student-athletes, and Resiliency Training – all to help prepare our student-athletes for life beyond athletics. Through our department's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), we have developed a group called Own Your Roar, which is a peer-led group of student-athletes that is working to break the stigma of mental health illness in hopes that their teammates and friends will be treated just as if they have a physical injury. Take a look at this awesome video Camille Vitoff from gymnastics directed recently and that will be shown at upcoming events in TU Arena. 
 
Facilities and Revenue Generation 
The Tiger Athletic Fund is working to engage with fans and alumni who want to invest in our future. We are currently ahead of where we were last year, but still behind our pre-pandemic fundraising totals. As we continue to elevate the department, support is needed now more than ever. In the coming months, we are excited to share updates to the anticipated Phase 2 Renovation of the Field House and future plans for improving the Towson Center.
 
As we settle into the holiday season, I want to express my gratitude to you as someone who is interested in what is going on at Towson. Without the fans at the games, parents tailgating and traveling afar to support their loved ones or alumni stepping up to support, our student-athletes striving for excellence is not possible. Your enthusiasm and support provide our teams with energy each and every day.
 
I hope to see you at an event this winter!  
   

Steven C. Eigenbrot Director of Athletics Towson University