The winningest football coach in Towson history, Phil Albert was inducted into the Towson Hall of Fame in 1994.
A native of Johnstown, Pa. who graduated from the University of Arizona, he compiled an impressive 117-91-3 record during his tenure leading the Tigers.
Albert became head coach after three years serving as an assistant. Although his teams struggled at first, he led the Tigers to a perfect 10-0 record in 1974, just his third year as head coach.
He directed Towson to success at three different levels of NCAA football. In 1976, he led the Tigers to their first NCAA Division III playoff appearance and took Towson to the national championship game before the Tigers lost to St. John’s (Minn.) on a last-second field goal.
In 1979, Towson’s first in Division II, the Tigers lost their first game before going unbeaten the rest of the season. In 1983, Towson earned its first Division II playoff spot after going 10-1 and ranking as high as fourth in the nation. That season Towson was named ECAC Division II Team of the Year and won the Lambert/Meadowlands award as the top team in the East. The Tigers also received those awards in 1984 and 1985. Albert was named the Kodak District II Coach of the Year in 1983, the first of three such honors he received.
In 1987, Towson made its debut in Division I-AA (now FCS) football. Albert coached Dave Meggett to the Walter Payton Trophy as the top player in I-AA. When he retired in 1991, Albert had coached eight Kodak All-Americans, 12 Associated Press All-Americans, three future NFL players (Sean Landeta, Stan Eisenhooth, and Meggett). He also coached six GTE District II Academic All-Americans).
