A Conversation with AD Steven Eigenbrot

[mat1992 2,374]

Steve Eigenbrot is about to enter this third season as the Director of Athletic at Towson U. On a very hot Monday afternoon, I had a chance to discuss a few topics including NIL, the CAA, Alston and more.

On TV deal

“I would say that the Flo deal has 2 or 3 years. The shortcomings that you may perceive in our streaming opportunity, they were massively exploited by the fact that we didn’t have regional TV. In order to make sense of the package, that allows us to make it work. If you’re not making it work, your basketball games are hard to find. Being on CBS, national TV, we were on national TV 11 times last year including the lacrosse game. Basketball ended up on CBS six times. Flo gives us the opportunity and ESPN would not. We had a couple of games on MeTV. There were conflicts with the Wizards and Caps. (waiting on NBA schedule to announce Monumental deal with football and basketball).”

Facilities

“My hope is that we’re able to break ground on the field house in the spring. Tricky thing is that football is in the fall and lacrosse is the spring. Those are the two major tenants. It’s going to exceed the summer. Will it be a 15-month, 18-month build? Finalizing the funding formula is something where we are close to. I hold on to the spring of next year (as the start).”

On second weight room

“The field house will not take on the new weight room. The weight room project, we’re hopeful that in the next 30 days, we will start making changes in the (Towson Center) to bring a second weight room to fit 28-40 student-athletes to lift. Our hope is to have access to that. Hoping that the rigidness around the schedules, practice and classes gets freed up. Our hope is that it will be up by January.”

On field house issues

“There is a river that runs underneath Johnny Unitas Stadium. Expanding the footprint of the building is difficult. The premise of the project is that the groundfloor of the building is significantly larger than the second and third floor. The scope of the project will increase the second and third floor to match the footprint of the first floor. We can expand offices and team meeting space. We have no real meeting space for the teams other than the Minnegan room. Organizing the offices where there will be a lacrosse suite. We’ll get that fixed. The big thing is renovating the training room. If we don’t touch the training room now, there are some health and safety issues. That training room reeks of its original build. We need to get the hydrotherapy in there up to snuff. All told, it will be an $18M project. When I started, it was $7M. It’s increased significantly, but we have some good momentum to figure out how to pay for it.”

On stadium expansion

“That’s further down the priority list. The Towson Center needs to be a better version of itself. I didn’t want to build an $18M Field House without having some semblance of an idea of how much we’re going to spend and what we’re going to do to make the Towson Center a better version of itself. I believe that the Towson Center gym is a massive opportunity. We need to seize it and make it better. We’re talking about how we can fund the Towson Center, renovating the training room here (TC) and renovating the gym, bringing the turf space online and serving our weather issues. Loose numbers is that the Towson Center gym is about $10M to renovate, $4-5M for the training center. Turning the gym into a 30x40 space for football, lacrosse, baseball and retaining the two courts. No starting date. I want to make sure we’re keeping our eyes on both things. Working on a re-payment plan. I’m trying to focus on realistic fundraising numbers. We’ve got creative that we reached a deal with Coppermine. They are going to do some youth sports on our field. Getting kids exposed to Towson and also enjoying the revenue that comes with it. That’s important in how we pay for this.”

On FCS football and home schedule

“I would say that if you’re concerned about FCS football and the current environment. I’m a firm believer that big-time programs and Group of Five programs is that they are going to have to make very difficult decisions. We’re at a much more stable place than some of those Group of Five opportunities. We as a league are committed to provide Alston for men’s and women’s basketball. The American Conference, MAC and Conference USA doesn’t do.”

“Alston is an educational-related benefit that allows us to give up to $5,980 to a student-athlete based on some level of academic performance. Unlike Cost of Attendance, which is a number that each institution registers with the federal government. The COA at Towson may be twice what it is in Delaware or half at Hofstra. It has nothing to do with collegiate athletics at the end of the day. There are some monies that we can provide student-athletes really as a part of their scholarship. Alston at Towson, is based on our GPA requirement (2.6), tied to study hall. As long as you have a 2.6 that semester and you can get half that number. If you have a GPA below that, there is another opportunity to get full Alston, but you have to do more community service. Why GPA is an important measure, not all majors are created equal. If you have a 2.3 and you’re a biochemist, there should be a pathway to get funds. Because we sponsor football at the FCS level, I think we’re able to compete in some areas nationally in lacrosse and basketball, where other conferences aren’t as competitive. I’m very comfortable with where we are sponsoring FCS football. I wouldn’t be shocked if some Group of Five people would go down to FCS to compete for a national championship. The team that wins the MAC might get into the playoff, (but not realistic). In the CAA, four or more teams have a shot. At Towson and most of the schools in the CAA, the Alston funds for men’s and women’s basketball, every kind on a scholarship gets it. In lacrosse, we fund it the way we fund the programs. 12.5 scholarships. You can give a walk-on full Alston. We let (Coach Nadelen and Carr) figure it out.”

In terms of out of state tuition

“Towson’s population has grown precipitously in-state. Out of state students pay more $$ when they come here. The school is about 91% in-state, our athletic department is about 60% out-of-state. Kids see the value coming to TU out of state. At (South Carolina), there were lot of ways for an out of state kid to qualify for an in-state tuition. Whether it was based on picking a major… the approach that we’ve taken at Towson, is that all the bordering states, plus New York and New Jersey, there’s an opportunity for students to earn a scholarship that sits in the middle If in-state tuition is $26 and out of state is $40. You take the middle and if you get into Towson on your own and your from PA, you’ll pay $34,000 (math is not quite right, but the premise is). It’s gone really well. In the first year, our Apps went through the roof in the neighboring states. The yield wasn’t as high as we wanted (kids that said yes, going to Towson), wasn’t as high as we wanted. Looks like the out of state yield has been much better. Baseball and field hockey. They have a lot of talented kids coming from PA.”

On Richmond and Delaware leaving

“President S ere you’re planted. Dr. Ginsberg talked about it a little bit. I don’t think either of us is as excited about another opportunity beyond (the CAA). Richmond and Delaware are different paths. Delaware you can figure out what they’re trying to do. It’s not that hard. The Richmond was a little bit curious and interesting. A-10 basketball is trying to get their powder dry. I think if I told Coach Pete that we’re going to the Patriot League, I don’t think he’d be all that happy with his boss for awhile. Their conference affiliation is different from ours. I don’t see the upside of what they are trying to do. To me it seems that they are capitalizing more on basketball and taking away resources from football.”

On Delaware leaving

“Pat Skerry was down in Georgia over the weekend. He mentioned of trying to play Delaware (after they leave). I’d love to do that and I’m sure we’ll talk (to Delaware AD). There’s a lot of familiarity there. Would like to lock-in a non-conference opponent (like Delaware). The success that we’re having in basketball, is making it very difficult for us to formulate a non-conference schedule because there is not a lot of willingness to play us. Playing South Carolina. We signed that over a year ago. You schedule bad teams, you beat the tar out of them and that’s how you improve your NET.”

As for playing Maryland

“We put some energy and effort of trying to play them in a neutral site (Baltimore). We have yet to land the plane. Play them in football in 2025, 28 and 30.”

“The grumbling may be that if a conference expands the conference games in the future, that they’d be more apt to cut back on Group of Five games in non-conference. For the most part, I don’t (guaranteed games) going away. I think we’re good.”

On basketball home schedule

“Personal relationships have helped us at the end of the day. We just got done with a home-and-home with an A-10 program. Figuring out how to do that kind of thing. Talking to some Sun Belt programs. There is a good opportunity for us to play 5-6 non-conference home games. I don’t know if Bryant check that box. The last two times we played an A-10 team. So hard to get good homes that you have move heaven and earth to do it.”

On first football season with Pete

“Good. Frustrating that we lost games that we shouldn’t of. My takeaway is that any team can lose anybody. We beat UNH and W&M on the road. Need some consistency .Our fans and Pete would like. That Albany game stands out. We gave them all they could handle. We had some really interesting weather events. We had weather delays in two games. That Monmouth game felt good and the long weather delay and we let the air out of the balloon. Please with the way Coach Pete and his staff handled the opportunity. Their excitement and energy and effort. Just look at the portal. I played football all my youth for coaches who seemed a lot like Rob Ambrose. Coach Pete is doing it totally different. Not to say any one way is right or wrong or you can’t win. Rob did win a lot of games coaching the way he did it. The fact that we’ve been able to retain the roster and the kids bought it. He’s had a chance to build some HS relationships bringing in freshmen. We went portal-crazy for a minute and the APR reflects that. That’s something that Coach Pete rolls up his sleeves, recruit the right person to come here and get that metric in the right spot and keep winning football games.”

“Had a long conversation with (Coach Pete). He said I really like our two-deep and that’s not including our freshmen yet. He’s excited about some of the kids coming in and stepping up as freshmen. You see it more and more in that sport.”

NIL in football

“At the FCS level, Cost of Attendance and maybe Alston, you have to pass through those thresholds before you get to a place where NIL is going to make a big deal. That being said, our approach to how we’re trying to make a progress through NIL, the source of funds is different. Usually institutions are funding COA or Alston, donors or businesses have the opportunity to step up and help you with NIL. I think I haven’t heard Coach Pete clamoring for NIL the same way we’ve had to work for men’s and women’s basketball. We’re going to have an opportunity to do more from an aid perspective over the next year. I wouldn’t be shocked where Coach Pete can use that…is there a kid that doesn’t go to Towson and goes to MAC school because of Cost of Attendance. Yes. I’m sure that’s happened. Can we put ourselves in a situation where that doesn’t happen? I think so. COA at Towson is around $3,100. That doesn’t sound like much money. But if you can generate $20,000 in NIL and now there’s 6-7 kids and you’re not going to  lose to a MAC school. You may start to see it especially due to some of the business opportunities that we’re going to dip our toe into.

NIL on rule changes

“They’ve changed and have become a little bit more common sense. .Not the most comfortable part  for a lot of us. The rules keep changing. The transfer portal rules keep changing. Kids being able to transfer an unlimited amount of time and the NIL coming in. That made it really challenging. There are ways we can help student-athletes. We can play a role in it. We can’t negotiate on our behalf. Terry Porter has been a great asset for us, navigating that. Not just about supporting an athlete and their brand. What can we do to be more assertive.”

“In a lot of instances, its donors funding the payment of players. That’s a large part of what the collectives are doing. At the end of the day, came from a place raising tens of millions of dollars a year because there are a lot of rabid fans that want their schools to go. They want to get a really talented point guard or quarterback. Is it comfortable? Not really. There are people that are really successful in their businesses. Can we get their business to behave in a different way. That’s taken a lot of different forms. That looks more like NIL than it’s asking a donor to give thousands of dollars to help recruit talent. About 90% of NIL is donor-funded. It’s not a kid promoting their camp.”

On Charleston’s Collective

“They have a number of donors who have been really involved. Pat Kelsey was a massive part of that. Going into a community, building relationships. Towson’s version of that is probably going to be different. We’ve been creative around NIL. We’re far away from donors writing six-figure checks. We’re far away from that, but did some creative things. In the next couple of months, we’re going to launch a GOH Bar. The proceeds will go NIL. We’re not going to come to NIL riches by candy bars (protein bar). Whether it’s finding a TU-branded beer, NIL events, a dinner here, 10% of the proceeds at a restaurant goes back to NIL.. We’re not going to sit back and get lapped by the rest of the CAA. We have a plan to be in a decent position. 81% of our scoring is coming back (in MBB) and that’s something to be excited about.”

On scheduling with NIL

“Come to Las Vegas and we’ll give your school a $1M. It’s out there. Looks a little different. At the end of the day, you have to check the box at a compliance perspective. There’s an opportunity for those monies to be used more creatively. That’s happening in our landscape today.
 

On Website

“We’re trying to make sure our content is more updated. Not changing provider.

On President Ginsberg

“Amazing. His energy for all things. Most with athletics. He’s open, asks questions. Dove in. With the CAA conversations. There’s been some turnover in our league. We’ve embraced this phraseology called “tactical patience”. You don’t need to act to replace every school that leaves, but are you ready that if the right opportunity presents itself that you can move forward. He’s been involved in that. Both kids were involved in sports in college. He’s been incredible. One of the cool things was I come into the new place and you have three different presidents. That could be a recipe of a disaster for your career. Was fortunate to have interim President Perrault and Mark. He's offered his expertise and opinion. “

 

On the CAA

“If you look at the expansion of the league, Stony Brook. Time will prove if they are a very good fit. Like Towson, they are the only school in the CAA, they are non-flagship, non-HBCU, public institution, that also has a football and men’s lacrosse team. It sends your Title IX into a different level of complexity. Delaware has been a rival of sorts but it is the flagship institution of a state. When you have such a myriad of different-looking institutions, and your resource-allocation decisions are very different, you mention CofC, they don’t have those two sports. I don’t know how it will shake out. What does this school bring to the conference? That school is private and they don’t have football? I’m not out, but it leads to some challenges. The interesting thing as it relates to our football conference, I don’t know what the future holds as it relates to college football. The Richmond situation and you see that UMass goes to the MAC. This is the trend when it comes to mid-major realignment. Football is so expensive and you’re not getting football money. Hard to make heads or tails of it. What entity may present themselves as an opportunity for us to expand to, that’s kind of hard for me to figure out.”

On goals for this 2024-25 season

“Winning the Learfield Cup was awesome. I said we usually score in women’s lacrosse, something else and football. That was a Freudian slip. Football success is something that I’m excited about. The goal has been to figure out a way to improve one of our programs. Lacrosse only got Alston. That was easy for me to sell. When Cost of Attendance happened at Towson, we made the decision to go men’s and women’s basketball and lacrosse. We just followed suit with a line in a sand. Baseball, field hockey, track, swimming, getting more scholarships. We have different level lifts. We’re trying to make all those programs better. We’re trying to invest in all our programs. We’re going to have $340,000 less coming from the NCAA than we had the previous year. We’re working together to figure out a way that we’re not going to lose the traction that we’re making despite the fact that there are rocks are getting thrown at us. We have a really good plan, but we have to continue to follow us. We’re working on a way to have a meal on South Campus. There is no food over here. Our goal is in August of 2025 to open a kitchen that will seat 117 students and serve lunch and dinner at the Towson Center. Academic center and two weight rooms here. The idea that there is a place to go and be around other athletes getting together. They’ll know each other better. The swimmers have a prime place in Burdick, but they are disconnected from South Campus. Every sport has their own challenge. That will go a long way in uniting our athletes.”

On Athletic Dorms

“The campus master plan that is going to get refreshed this spring calls to be a bridge over Osler. I would love that bridge to connect more than just overflow parking and our athletic department to the rest of campus. I’d love to be something else that is driving some energy. A reason to be here. There are a couple of things we’re working on. In my ideal state, you take Lot 4 and you make it a dorm. First floor has a Starbucks, ice cream shop or a law office. That mixed use and commercial feel with campus apartments above it. That would be a game-changer for South campus. I don’t have the money to build a dorm. We’re looking for some other ways to get people on South campus. There are some opportunities with field house growth to do something there. We have nice fields and facilities. A lot of people don’t know it. Making more people know about it. That’s the thing I want to change. Whether that’s getting it on TV, building a marquee’. Every time I walk back to a field hockey game, I hear parents from the other team as they are tailgating, saying, I had no idea that this was back there. It’s awesome that we have it.”

On practice bubble

“Mark has talked about it a number of times (as a bubble for practice). We haven’t talked price. That space would be covered regularly. Has a downside. I don’t know if it’s a collapsable bubble. Having two pieces of turf considering the climate in this area that would still be exciting. We have to figure out a way to pay for it. Paying $32M is more than we’ve had done other than building a new (arena). We have to figure out how to pay for it ourself. Baby steps. The master plan calls for a parking garage in the hill where the bridge over Osler comes in near Unitas Stadium.”

[etiger 81]

Matt, Thank you for this interview. Great information

[TuTigers2012 1,142]

Good information and some good questions/topics asked. 

My takeaways;  a lot of the same. Disappointing that we seem stuck on the status quo being in the CAA (I know no one will have us). LOL to teams coming back or taking the drop to FCS football.. yeah right. Like trying to schedule Delaware for basketball and hopefully other sports, makes too much sense. Trying to be creative with different ideas with NIL, that's a plus.  Expanding the stadium?! WHAT WHY?!  That Alston thing is interesting, so our hoops players could receive; that, NIL and COA? If so, that seems pretty good...

Finally, the Osler Bridge. LMFAO. We have been hearing about that forever (not an athletics issue, but the University overall).  I truly believe that we will make it to the dance before that bridge gets built.

[Blazer49 202]

Outstanding job Mat and thank you.  Seems to me the Dr. E was a little more candid with you than he normally is which was a good thing.

It won't happen but I just wish someone would come out and say "Yes Flosports isn't the best, but they are giving us a $hit ton more money than ESPN has ever offered."  That is more honest and truthful than the number of times we get on "national tv". I have yet to see or hear anyone, outside of people that work for the conference or schools in the conference say they like Flosports.  

We all know the limitations Towson has, just hope the plans that are currently down on paper become reality but more importantly are effective in providing results.

I think we all know how he feels about Rob.  Did not have to mention his name but the fact that he did... I'm kind of excited to see what year two of Coach P brings.  Second year has more of his "type of guys" in the program, not sure how it transfers to wins and losses this year but hoping to see talent improvement heading into year 3 in 2025.

 

 @mat1992 do you get the sense that Dr. E visits this site or has someone put eyes to this site from time to time?
 

[mat1992 2,374]

4 hours ago, Blazer49 said:

Outstanding job Mat and thank you.  Seems to me the Dr. E was a little more candid with you than he normally is which was a good thing.

It won't happen but I just wish someone would come out and say "Yes Flosports isn't the best, but they are giving us a $hit ton more money than ESPN has ever offered."  That is more honest and truthful than the number of times we get on "national tv". I have yet to see or hear anyone, outside of people that work for the conference or schools in the conference say they like Flosports.  

We all know the limitations Towson has, just hope the plans that are currently down on paper become reality but more importantly are effective in providing results.

I think we all know how he feels about Rob.  Did not have to mention his name but the fact that he did... I'm kind of excited to see what year two of Coach P brings.  Second year has more of his "type of guys" in the program, not sure how it transfers to wins and losses this year but hoping to see talent improvement heading into year 3 in 2025.

 

 @mat1992 do you get the sense that Dr. E visits this site or has someone put eyes to this site from time to time?
 

Thanks. With two very young kids I assume Steve has very little time to check out our website 

[mat1992 2,374]

Five minute Q&A with Steve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZV0clEOEyQ