TOWSON, Md. – Ken Tyler has been hired by the Towson University athletics department as Senior Associate Athletic Director, Athletics Development. Tyler, who has spent the last three seasons as Barton College's Vice President and Director of Athletics, will begin his new position on August 5, 2026.

In his role, Tyler will lead the Tiger Athletic Fund (TAF), the fundraising arm of the Towson athletics department. TAF relies on its members and their generous support to help improve the quality and experience of the more than 500 student-athletes.
 
Tyler was a Division I student-athlete before embarking on a 16-year coaching career at college level, including head coaching positions at Albright College and Shepherd University. During his time at Albright and Shepherd, Tyler had dual roles– also working as an assistant athletics director, where he spearheaded significant facility upgrade campaigns at both institutions.
 
He transitioned into a full-time administrator in 2008 and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this role, including director of athletics stints at three institutions.
 
Since September 2023, Tyler has overseen Barton College's athletics program, where he was responsible for leading more than 700 student-athletes, managing a $10 million budget and serving on the President's cabinet. The Bulldogs won eight conference championships and Tyler secured multiple six-figure gifts.

Tyler replaces Meredith Crawford, who now works for the Towson University development office as the senior director of development, major gifts.
 
"Bringing someone with Ken's experience on board is a real opportunity for us to elevate our leadership team, " Towson University Vice President of Athletics Steven C. Eigenbrot said. "Ken's wealth of experience, as a development officer and an athletics administrator, will be invaluable as we strive to reach our goals across the department.  I look forward to working with him and our great Towson donors to continue the strides we have made in our 'Campaign for Excellence', as we write the next chapter for Towson Athletics."
 
"I'm thrilled to join the Towson Athletics team and I'm honored and grateful for the opportunity," Tyler said. "When I visited campus, I could sense the forward momentum and energy under Steve Eigenbrot's leadership. Throughout my career, I've grown external revenue by elevating fundraising efforts and strengthening relationships. As a former student-athlete, coach and athletic director, I can tell the story of Towson Athletics in an authentic manner. Towson represents the best ideals of Division I, and, in this rapidly evolving NCAA landscape, we need to be creative and innovative in identifying new resource opportunities to support that transformational mission."

After four years as a high school history teacher and basketball coach, Tyler moved to the collegiate level - spending single seasons at East Stroudsburg, Roanoke and James Madison, where he coached under Hall of Famer Lefty Driesell, before being accepting the head men's basketball coach position at Albright College in 1995.
 
During his six seasons at Albright, his teams went 87-64, including winning the 1997-98 Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth championship. Tyler then spent seven years as the head coach at Shepherd – winning 99 games.

He retired from coaching after the 2007-08 season then served as director of athletics at West Virginia Wesleyan College for four years, overseeing the largest athletic department in the state of West Virginia, with more than 500 student athletes and 19 varsity sports.
 
Tyler then spent six years at the University of Mary Washington. During that tenure, 10 teams were conference champions, three programs earned NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances, two made the Elite Eight, field hockey earned a trip to the Final Four and four men's swimmers won individual NCAA national events.

Before being hired at Barton, Tyler had advancement roles at The St. James, a multi-purpose sports complex in Northern Virginia, and the George C. Marshall International Center before spending two years as the senior advancement officer for major gifts at the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., his alma mater, where he was responsible for cultivating and stewarding a major gift portfolio, as well as holding a leadership role in the school's $150 million campaign.

Tyler was a backup guard at William & Mary (1983-87) where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He earned a Master of Arts degree in education from William & Mary in 1989.

Tyler has a son Jordan, an officer in the United States Navy, and a daughter, Logan, who is the coordinator for new student orientation and transitions at Roanoke College, where she played soccer. His wife, Dr. Leona Ba Tyler, is an associate professor at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service.