 5 Questions With...
Mike Waddell
Director of Athletics
On October 26, 2010 Mike Waddell was named the new Director of Athletics at Towson University. TU sponsors 20 sports, 13 for women and 7 for men, and serves more than 540 student-athletes. Here is a brief interview with Waddell on his hopes for Tiger Athletics.
What is your vision for Towson Athletics?
Our goal first and foremost is for our student-athletes to have a great college experience and to watch them all leave Towson with a college diploma. I like to think of it as Athletics R&D -- Rings and Diplomas. The first part of that refers to Championship Rings and to do that we need to establish a competitive program across the board, especially in men's and women's basketball. Externally we need to increase our level of support from the private sector and enhance our relationships in the Greater Baltimore Community as that will lead to Towson Athletics becoming "Baltimore's Team". Once we give back the community will embrace us.
What made you interested in continuing your career at Towson?
I am motivated by having the opportunity to work with a lot of great people here on campus to change the culture of what Athletics represents. There is so much potential here at Towson mainly because we have great people. What we need now is to act on the vision of creating a Championship Culture. I have been a part of some pretty impressive turnarounds in my past, at Appalachian State, the University of Akron and at Cincinnati and believe that those experiences have prepared me well to lead our department forward. We can make a difference and we can change attitudes -- and to do that we need all Tigers to come on board and buy-in to what we are doing. Every alumni, every student, every staffer, every person that is out there that has heard of Towson is important to our goals being achieved.
What is the most challenging thing about Towson Athletics?
The most challenging thing about this position is creating a culture where success is expected. In a lot of ways that leads back to resources, but we have to strategically place our resources where they can deliver the best return on investment in terms of branding, winning, and development. What VCU did in this year's NCAA Tournament is a great example, but that did not happen overnight. There are no quick fixes and it will take lots of hard work, some hard choices, and a clear vision of what we want to accomplish. I believe I can articulate the vision and the next phase is changing attitudes on and off campus.
What is the most promising thing about Towson Athletics?
The most promising thing to me -- wow, that's hard to narrow down to just one. I think we have a great University to market, to attract student-athletes to, we have a great new arena going up over the next two years, and we have some fantastic people on this campus in and out of athletics who are committed to being Champions. It all starts with people and once everyone buys in to the conception that we can be more than we have been that is when the change will begin to take hold.
Where will Towson Athletics be five years from now?
I expect that we will have more than doubled our fundraising dollars on an annual basis, we will have established a culture that expects to win, additional resources will have been developed for all of our sports and we will be Baltimore's team. This is my dream, my passion and my expectation.
#ONETOWSON
To get the latest information directly from the AD, please follow Mike Waddell on Twitter @towsontigerad.
Towson University 2016
 Encouraging Broader Campus Participation
With the goal to feature the arts and athletics as key components of the Towson University experience, the 2016 plan encourages broader participation in activities by all members of the university and greater Towson community. Last fall Towson Football drew more than 30,000 fans to their first 4 home games averaging 7,547 fans per game. The single-season attendance record was set in 2007 with 35,693 fans attending the Tigers' home games.
2016 Plan | Guiding Principles
New in the News
Read up on the latest higher education issues that have appeared in the news recently:
 Legislative BUDGET UPDATE
The House and Senate have passed their versions of the FY2012 Operating Budget for the State of Maryland. The Conference Committee's task begins as they work to produce the final budget for the State.
The University System of Maryland budget was reduced $8.1M by the House and $2.0M by the Senate, with flexibility on how to apply the reduction across the USM. This will be one of many differences to be worked out in Conference Committee. Budget language is included for reports on various items.
For specifics on the budget, please refer to the House Appropriations Committee Report on House Bill 70 -- the Budget Bill and House Bill 72 -- the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act
Points of interest to higher education include:
* page 6 higher education reductions
* page 16 amendments 28-31 pension reform
* page 22 amendment 56 voluntary separation program language
* Page 28 Pension Reform Information
The reprint of the House version of HB70 Budget Bill
The reprint of the Senate version of HB70 Budget Bill
For more bill information, please click here.
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