TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University athletics department today announced an agreement with Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s (MSE) regional sports network to broadcast football, volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball contests during the 2023-24 season. NBC Sports Washington is the legacy brand for the network which will be rebranded as Monumental Sports Network this September.
Four of the five Towson home football games will be televised on the network as well as three matches featuring Towson’s four-time defending CAA volleyball championship team. The men’s and women’s basketball broadcasts on the network will be determined after the conference schedules are revealed in September. Last season, six Towson men’s basketball games were televised on the network.
As a member of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), all regular season games Towson produces will air exclusively on FloSports digital with member institutions retaining rights to local linear television distribution.
“Having a partner like Monumental really allows Towson to get the most out of our TV rights and make the most of our role as the ‘front porch’ for this institution,” Towson Director of Athletics Steve Eigenbrot said. “Having four football home games and three of our volleyball matches on television this fall is an incredible opportunity to expose the community to our brand. We appreciate Monumental for making this possible and look forward to growing the relationship even further into our winter season and beyond.”
Last fall, MSE acquired full ownership of NBC Sports Washington from Comcast/NBC Universal. The station will be rebranded “Monumental Sports Network” with a new slate of programming to go into effect this fall – at which time the NBC Sports Washington moniker will be retired. The network is the exclusive local television media rights holder for NHL’s Washington Capitals, NBA’s Washington Wizards and WNBA’s Washington Mystics games and also boasts the most comprehensive regional collegiate Division II-and-under and regional high-school sports programming in the greater Washington D.C. metro area.
“We are thrilled to partner with Towson University to offer their storied athletics program more regional exposure and their passionate fans another opportunity to cheer them on,” said Friday Abernethy, General Manager, NBC Sports Washington.
The football broadcasts will begin with the home opener versus CAA foe Monmouth (Sept. 9) then continue two weeks later when the Tigers host Norfolk State (Sept. 23) during Family Weekend. The final two home games will also be on Monumental – versus conference rivals Delaware (Oct. 28) and Rhode Island (Nov. 18).
“It gives us great exposure we love having,” head coach Pete Shinnick said. “Any time that we can showcase what we are doing in that type of setting for that amount of games is a huge advantage for Towson University and Towson football.”
Hired last December as the fifth head coach in Towson football history, Shinnick is 159-67 (.704 winning percentage) all-time as a college head coach, spanning 20 seasons with stops at West Florida, UNC Pembroke and Azusa Pacific. He has earned Division II National Coach of the Year twice and guided West Florida to the Division II national championship in 2019 and playoff appearances in four of the last five seasons played.
Three of the first four home matches of the volleyball season will be on Monumental’s network: Fairleigh Dickinson (Sept. 1), Dartmouth (Sept. 2) and Rider (Sept. 3). The Towson volleyball team is coming off a 29-2 season with winning its fourth consecutive CAA Championship and earning an eight seed at the NCAA Tournament. Don Metil‘s teams have won 97 of its last 110 matches dating back to Oct. 29, 2018 after opening the season with a series split at South Carolina last weekend.
“This is a great opportunity for us,” Metil said. “To now broaden the fan base out to the Delmarva area is exciting and can hopefully market the team more than in years past.”
FALL 2023 BROADCAST SCHDEDULE
Volleyball
Friday, Sept. 1 – Towson vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (7 PM)
Saturday, Sept. 2 – Towson vs. Dartmouth (12 PM)
Sunday, Sept. 3 – Towson vs. Rider (1 PM)
Football
Saturday, Sept. 9 – Towson vs. Monmouth (6 PM)
Saturday, Sept. 23 – Towson vs. Norfolk State (4 PM)
Saturday, Oct. 28 – Towson vs. Delaware (1 PM)
Saturday, Nov. 18 – Towson vs. Rhode Island (1 PM)
Season and single-game tickets are available by visiting https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/. For any questions regarding tickets for Towson events, call the Towson Athletics ticket office at 410-704-4501 or email [email protected].
