The Towson Tigers, formerly the Towson College Knights, are the athletics teams of Towson University. All of the major athletic teams compete in the Colonial Athletic Association with 19 Division I athletic teams. Gymnastics competes in the EAGL conference, having rejoined the league in the Spring of 2012. Since joining the CAA in 2001–02, the Tigers have won 16 league championships; the Tigers have won titles in football, baseball, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, men's golf, women's swimming and diving, and volleyball. In addition, the women's gymnastics program has captured six ECAC Championships over the last eight years. During an athletics history that traces its roots to the 1920s, Towson has sent teams and individual student-athletes to NCAA post-season competition in baseball, basketball, football, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, track & field and volleyball. In May 2011, the department broke ground on the SECU Arena, a new 5000-seat, state-of-the-art arena for basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. The arena was completed in May 2013 and opened in June 2013.
Varsity teams
Towson University sponsors teams in six men's and thirteen women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
Changes since 2000 to the men's programs include the elimination of several varsity sports in the 2003-04 school year: indoor track, outdoor track, cross country, tennis. Changes to the women's programs include the additions of golf in 2007. Men's soccer was eliminated in 2013; after late funding increases, plans to eliminate baseball were delayed until at least 2015.
Towson's men's lacrosse team is a nationally known program, regularly appearing in the NCAA tournament with two NCAA finals appearances to their credit. In 1974, the Tigers finished with a 14-1 record and won the Division II national title with an 18-17 overtime win over Hobart. The team also reached the finals of the 1991 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, and reached the semifinals of the 2001 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. The Tigers maintain an annual rivalry with the Loyola Greyhounds.
Notable non-varsity sports
Rugby
Founded in 1975, Towson University men's rugby club plays college rugby in Division 1AA in the MARC against local rivals from Maryland, DC, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Towson rugby has been led by head coach Tony De Cesare, with assistance coach Tim Cahill. In 2012, Towson reached the Division 2 national playoffs, defeating Boston University in the round of 16 and Colgate in the quarterfinals, before losing to Salisbury in the semifinals. Towson finished the 2012 season with a 14-5 record, ranked #5 in the nation in Division 2, with flyhalf Christian Lowe named to the All Division 2 team. In the 2013 season, Towson again reached the Division 2 national playoffs. Towson defeated Illinois State 34-19 in the round of 16, and defeated UNC-Wilmington 30-5 in the quarterfinals, before once again falling to rival Salisbury 23-10 in the semifinals.
