Towson Tigers Football Will Not Play Spring Intercollegiate Schedule

Press release from Towson University:

October 19, 2020

The Towson University athletics department will not be playing an intercollegiate
football schedule during the 2021 spring season.

Towson football will now prepare for the traditional 2021 fall season. This decision
was made in conjunction with Towson University student-athletes, coaches, department
of athletics administrators and medical personnel.

The football team will prepare to hold traditional spring practices to lower the risks
of long-term injuries and get ready for the 2021 season. All precautions will be taken,
including COVID screening for players, coaches and staff.

With today’s announcement, Towson has opted out of the spring 2021 football schedule
in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Towson football student-athletes will retain
their year of eligibility per the NCAA.

Abilene Christian, Campbell, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Houston Baptist,
Old Dominion, Sacramento State and Stephen F. Austin have all opted out of a potential
spring football season in 2021.

“In today’s world, there are no easy decisions anymore, everything is a long, planned
out decision,” said Towson football head coach Rob Ambrose. “The first thing we did
is we took a step back once we knew there was going to be a plan for this, and we
asked the players, and we listened. It is amazing how aware, broad-minded, forward-thinking
and how intelligent our student-athletes really are. We surveyed the guys, more than
75% of the team did not want to trade a full season next year for a six-game season
this spring. After listening to the players, I could not come up with a good reason
on why we should do this.”

“With football being a high-contact sport, the student-athletes and coaches agree
that potentially sacrificing a normal fall season for a shortened spring year is not
the safest course of action,” said Towson University director of athletics Tim Leonard.
“We support our student-athletes and coaches in this decision, and we look forward
to a return to the field for the 2021 season.”

In July, Towson announced that intercollegiate schedules for all fall sports — including
field hockey, volleyball, cross country and soccer — would be postponed. Tigers men’s
and women’s basketball are preparing to play a regular season beginning in November.
Those Tigers teams remain in preparations for upcoming competitive schedules, abiding
by all health and safety precautions, including COVID-19 screening for players, coaches
and staff.

Towson Athletics is home to 19 competitive Division I intercollegiate programs, supporting
more than 500 student-athletes and boasting an NCAA graduation rate of 88 percent
— which is tops among the USM’s Division I schools. The Tigers also set the standard
for community service and volunteerism, earning an NCAA Teamworks Helper Helper national
championship for most community service hours during the fall 2018 term. On the field,
the Tigers are responsible for 29 CAA championships since joining the conference in
2001.

For more information about Tigers athletics, visit www.TowsonTigers.com.

This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.