Playing the waiting game
Photo by Matthew Hazlett, Illustration by Danielle Frater
For months, Zach Fisher has been waiting—waiting on an announcement from the Office of the President that would decide his future at Towson University. Fisher is the third baseman on Towson’s baseball team. Since Oct. 2, he and other players have kept their ears to the ground, hungry for information on the fate of his team that University President Maravene Loeschke revealed may be cut to maintain fiscal stability in the department.
Director of Athletics Mike Waddell originally made that recommendation, saying the measures to cut baseball and also men’s soccer would secure the department’s financial future as well as compliance with Title IX guidelines, which prohibit gender discrimination in institutes of higher education.
Loeschke’s announcement said she would make a final decision by mid-November, but has been quiet since the Athletics Task Force she appointed examined Waddell’s recommendation and announced its supported of the recommendations on Nov. 19.
The announcement spurred grassroots campaigns from members and supporters of the baseball and soccer programs.
A sign that read “#SaveTUbaseball” was seen in the crowd at Camden Yards during the Orioles playoff matchup against the Yankees. Colored chalk scribbled the same outcry on Towson’s campus. Twitter exploded with hundreds of messages of support to the cause.
Fisher, who was named to the District II 2012 All-Academic Team, has taken different measures to save the program.
After receiving Waddell’s proposal to eliminate both teams, he set to work and crunched numbers to devise an alternative plan that would still coincide with the athletic department’s goals of sustaining competitiveness and financial solvency, as well as adhering to Title IX’s requirements.
“On the morning they told us we might be cut, they told us they had a Title IX problem,” Fisher said. “I wanted to know why. I wanted to know the details.”
Towson must maintain a ratio of female athletes indicative to the female population of the school to comply with Title IX. Currently, Towson’s student population comprises 60 percent women, but only 53 percent of the athletes at Towson are female, which Waddell’s proposal would fix. However, in Waddell’s proposal, the women’s indoor and outdoor track teams were not classified as separate teams. Had they been, 50 additional female athletes would have been counted. As a result, the percentage of female athletes would be 57 percent. This error has since been taken into account by the Athletics Task Force.
Fisher said the problem can be fixed without cutting any teams. According to Fisher’s plan, just 28 men’s roster spots would need to be rescinded in order to achieve this, along with the expansion of 12 women’s spots.
“Just little cuts across the board,” Fisher said. “It’s not that complicated, so I’m just confused about what the Title IX issue really is.”
Fisher met with Loeschke and the athletics task force to show his findings, and proposed the cuts, which included eight baseball and seven football roster spots. This would drop the respected totals to 30 and 90, the latter matching the amount of rostered football players for New Hampshire this past season.
Fisher noted during the meeting that cutting the eight baseball spots would allow Towson to still afford scholarships to the program and could save the athletic department over $40,000. He also suggested the money saved could leave the program room to become more competitive if it were put toward building an indoor hitting facility.
Though he presented his findings in spreadsheet form and distributed it to the task force members and president, Fisher said he is unsure whether his argument hit home.
“They didn’t really look at it because I only had a 15-minute meeting with them to give them everything I had,” Fisher said. “They didn’t really give much feedback and I didn’t hear much after the meeting I had with them. I didn’t have a follow-up meeting or anything like that to see what they thought.”
The delay in the ruling presents a problem for Fisher and the rest of the baseball team who aren’t entering their final year. The season is slated to begin Feb. 15 and players fear there will not be enough time to make decisions for their future.
“I can’t move on with my life, none of us can,” right fielder Dominic Fratantuono said. “The worst part is I’ve only got one year left after this. I’m a junior. Who wants a guy for one year when they won’t know if I can come until maybe February, March or April? I can’t go make visits to schools during the season.”
Fisher noted that even the younger players on the roster aren’t having matters made easy for them.
“What’s more frustrating is there are some sophomores and freshmen that would like to know if it’s going to be cut or not so they can go to a junior college,” Fisher said. “If you’re a freshman, and it’s not looking like you are going to get a ton of playing time this year, it doesn’t benefit you at all to go against teams every weekend when you’re not playing.”
Though discussion and debate has dwindled since October’s announcement, the campus still awaits a final decision on the cuts. Over the past few months, Fratantuono said he still reflects on all the support he and the programs have received, the magnitude of which still leaves him in disbelief.
“You’ve been to our games,” Fratantuono said. “If it’s a nice sunny day, we get maybe a decent crowd, but people aren’t fighting for seats. The support was unreal. Then [one day], I’m walking through the mall with Fish, and a lady I’ve never seen before comes up to us and says ‘you guys play baseball, I really hope they save you guys. I hope they don’t cut you.’ Never seen that lady before in my life.”
But the issue remains and athletes and coaches are still waiting in limbo to find out which direction their lives are going to take.
The players said they have not only dealt with the pressure of excelling in classes in front of them, but must do so with the knowledge that it could potentially be for nothing if credits from certain classes don’t transfer to a new school.
Though they would like to see their program saved, a part of them just wants the process to be over and done.
“I got to a point where, in the first week of November … I was just like ‘I am just worn out. I am done,’” Fisher said. “It was tough to pay attention in class and stuff like that. It was just tough to really just do anything at that point.”
Fisher said there is a difficult decision to be made, and the President and Athletic Task Force taking time to consider all potential options isn’t lost on him, despite the toll it has taken on him and his teammates.
“When we went in there the first time, they were obviously having a hard time with it too,” Fisher said. “How do you tell 60 people you’re cutting their dream? At this point, I just want to know. Even if it’s through an email in January, at least some people can decide if they’re going to transfer.”
But it’s out of their hands now.
And if you were to walk past John B. Schuerholz Park, the site of many seemingly endless fights, including the dramatic climax to Towson’s 2012 baseball season, there would be the same silence in the dugouts and bleachers that there was back then. But unlike that calm Sunday afternoon that ended in a screaming, rejoicing pile of Towson players in the infield, there is hardly a sign of a catharsis, or even a brief respite to this new blanket of tension that has covered the campus for the past three-and-a-half months.
In this period of seemingly stagnant activity outside of closed doors, the minds of all those affected by this firsthand aren’t stagnant at all. In this rare time where people can take a break from powering through everyday battles and can instead shift focus toward assessment and reflection, Fratantuono is able to sum the experience up with one final remark.
“Just tell everybody ‘thank you.’”
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What a well-written article!
The decision is taking so long because the presidents office has decided to go over the entire athletic budget. One of the major changes has been the dismissal of Deputy Athletic Director Devin Crosby. Crosby has since been hired by another university, but he seems to be Waddell’s scapegoat for all financial issues. Waddell himself is also in some pretty hot water. His issues stem from false statements made to the presidents office as well as numerous human resource and compliance issues. Should be an interesting spring. I foresee major changes in athletics over the next few months. Maybe even the firing of Waddell.
All the problems in the athletic department have been caused by Mike Waddell and his wild behavior. We can only hope that he is fired soon!
I was an intern in athletics last semester and worked around Mike Waddell and his deputies. He is not the problem. The problem is that the university does not give him enough money to do what he needs. The president is also causing the issues because she does not trust anyone in athletics. If se gave him the money and let him run things, we would not have these problems.
Crosby left Towson for a better job at a D1 school closer to his hometown. He was not fired or dismissed in any way. How lonely are you to come onto a web site and just make things up?
We can talk about make believe stuff regarding Waddell and the athletic department but I would rather talk about Maravene.
Did you know that she received a vote of no confidence from the faculty at Mansfield University, the last school she was President at? Did you know that she has a “PHD” from an institution which at the time was unaccredited. That particular institution also no longer offers a PHD in the subject she received hers in as well.
I continue to read things about Maravene leaving the front porch light on at Mansfield so students would know that they could come and talk whenever, or that she likes to stand on her front porch when student guests leave her house so she can make sure they get home safe. Is this woman a babysitter or the president of our university? I don’t like that Maryland’s money is spent on someone who spends the majority of her time attending band practices, RA trainings etc. Towson University literally has hundreds of employees whose careers are devoted to the well being of the students.
Regarding the whole thing with the baseball and soccer team. It bothers me that she is micro-managing the athletics department. Does anyone think it’s strange that an athletics task force, which Maravene appointed by the way (see third paragraph of this article), gave a recommendation which she clearly did not like? No wonder this woman gets votes of no confidence.
Maravene was hired to stunt the growth of the University. You all should be much more concerned about her incompetence than anything Waddell is doing.
By the way, Maravene most likely will be making an announcement soon that the soccer and baseball teams will not be cut. If she was planning on cutting these programs she would have let people know already so they could have found alternatives.
Some people will be happy with the decision. Most will not. The athletic department and “athletics task force”, which she appointed, came to a conclusion which she disregarded and made a completely opposite decision on.
Not the sort of person I want running my University.
TU ALUM, i agree that waiting this long and not making a decision has put the kids in a bad position, i don’t agree that most would want the programs cut….
Waddell has thrown the blame for everything at his staff. Then he systematically removes them. It started with Pete the SID. I think this is the first time he killed one of his own people (someone he hired). However you se the dismissal of Crosby, it is bad. He was either fired or left a job after 1 year. This is not a good sign.
Pete retired and still writes for the Tiger’s web site.
http://www.towsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=12491&DB_OEM_ID=21300&ATCLID=206043061
Check – Go ask anyone in athletics if Pete was run off? He still writes and cares because he spent 30+ years at Towson. He left because he was forced to. They announced that Pat Kennedy retired also. Don’t be so ignorant.
Crosby left because he is smart. He did not want to be on a sinking ship. Every one knows that Maravene hates Mike Waddell. She bashes him and his department every chance she gets. Why would a smart, well accomplished man who wants to be an athletic director, stick around and watch his chances go away. Good luck Devin Crosby. Towson will miss you.
MIKE WADDELL SUCKS! – Nuff Said!
MIKE WADDELL LIES, CHEATS, AND STEALS. Literally, he has been caught doing all of these things as AD at Towson. Just ask his wife or check his human resource file!
Maravene is a fraud. She has a PhD from an unaccredited online university. Are you kidding me!
If you don’t believe me about that look it up.
Mike Waddell may have done a number of things to improve Towson athletics, but he has damaged the department more than he has helped. His reputation on campusand the community is horrible. He is a punchline for other AD’s. Let Maravene bring in her own person and lets start moving this program forward.
I think the Athletic Department was running in the black 2 years ago. Over spending caused it to go into the Red. People need to realize you can’t spend what you don’t have.I have to wonder how the Athletic Department was allowed to run up the tab?
i understand that the spending was head count in the athletic department and not to improve facilities or on any specific sport….i also heard the title IX issue was a smoke screen from the reall issue…
Baseball Dad and Sports Fan are dead on. Waddles had a balanced budget and no title IX issues when he arrived. He hired all his friends and spent money on stupid stuff. Now he need to cut sports to make up the money. Devin Crosby was the first person cut (Last in, First out). The title of Deputy Athletic Director for external affairs in gone. Quick saving of $120,000 a year. Lets see who is next on the chopping block.
First of all, people who claim that Waddell is this great progressive guy know the “public Mike Waddell.” Public Mike Waddell tweets, cheers at games, and gives great interviews. REAL Mike Waddell says things like “we need to get all new blood in here,” “students are a ‘toss-off’ for attendance, like whacking off before a date,” and through incompetence or dishonesty botched the Title IX numbers. No one likes or trusts Waddell because he is a TERRIBLE athletic director and because he is a snake.
If this is about maintaining opportunities and trying to stay competitive, cut the scholarships to balance the “Title IX” problem, and move on. However, this isn’t about Title IX. This is about Waddell wasting tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of dollars and not creating the revenue promised.
Pete was forced out and was one of the first of nearly 30 staff members to leave the department. Mike Waddell’s cronies: Harris and Hollis haven’t delivered any of the revenue promised, and now need ANOTHER scapegoat to rationalize the ridiculous deficits that have occurred on their watch.
Waddell is on his way out the door, and I hope for Towson’s sake that Hollis and Harris join him. Too many promises, and not enough results. President Loeschke is collecting resumes, and maybe one of her candidates can actually deliver.
Hard to call Mike Hollis a cronie when he is a Towson alumnus and a former men’s hoop manager for Coach Kennedy. Mike Took care of my kids youth football group for the last two seasons and made those kids into Towson fans. There are a lot of positives going on with the program and I know that a lot of my alumni buddies feel the same way. As alums we have had to watch way too many losing seasons in football, hoops and lax and finally our program is starting to look like a division one program. I like our direction and have a lot of optimism about the future, which is not something I could have said since I graduated.
TigerAlum, i agree with you 100% regarding Football and Basketball, however all great Athletic Directors will grow their destination sports without spending their way into bankruptcy. Mr Waddell needs to do it the right way, raise the funds and drive the programs forward, his leadership was spend the money and don;t worry about if it is at the cost of other sports….. some people say that Towson is a spring board to a larger college for him. I disagree, if the PAC 10, SEC, ACC, Big East, or Big Ten knew he lost a baseball program they would not entertain a .
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