Saturday, January 31, 2009 4 comments

Towson athletic program lacks student involvement


Article by Daniel Gross
Photo taken from: TowsonTigers.com

Towson University's student athletic program has been voted one of the nation's best college athletic program's in the nation, offering 20 different sports for the intercollegiate program. This is now Towson's 30th year of NCAA Division 1 competition. The college growth and student enrollment has also consistently risen in the past years and continues to do so. The University now publicizes it's current enrollment status of over 20 thousand students. 

But where are the fans? Where are the crowds that wear there school colors with pride and stand and yell for their favorite player at a Towson Tiger sporting event? 

The recent men's basketball CAA conference game vs. Drexel was a perfect example of this lack of enthusiasm this university has come to have. Throughout the entire game, although the stands were filled seeing that it was a bi-semesterly "black out" game, there was no one to be seen standing up or at times even paying attention. There was only one small section, the "student section" where a group of students choose to remain standing for the entirety of the game. 

This group would even scream chants to the rest of their fellow Towson students, yet none of these so called fans would stand up or cheer for their team. 

There were many scenarios throughout the game in which naturally the play on the court would result in a standing ovation. At one point, there was 45 seconds left in the game, with the Towson Tigers down by only four points, an easy situation to pull out ahead.

Despite these suspenseful conditions, the fans remained in their seats. This was all while, the visiting teams fans, were all standing up together to support their team and make sure they would come home with a win. 

This goes to say a lot about the intention of the students at Towson and where the holes are within the strong athletic program. The athletic and sports programs directors have put a number of fan involvement/excitement program in place. These programs however, still do not seem to enhance the experience of the fan and attract a stronger commitment to spectator sports. Much of the issue lies within the actual fans. The issue of becoming more excited and showing sincere support is the first step and strengthening the fan base.

To look through the many sports programs offered go the the Towson Tigers homepage