Johnny Unitas® Stadium
Minnegan Field at Johnny Unitas® Stadium is home to Towson University's track & field, men's and women's lacrosse, football and field hockey teams.
The sports complex, which underwent a massive $32 million renovation beginning in 1999, seats 11,198 spectators. Stadium renovations, which were completed in 2002, included an addition of 6,000 seats, an artificial turf, entry level plaza, concession stands, new restrooms, ticket booths, a four-tier press box, an elaborate field house and a promenade that conveniently connects the northside and southside seating areas.
Surrounding Minnegan Field at Johnny Unitas® Stadium is an 8-lane (48-inch wide) Olympic caliber BSS 2000 track composed of Martins IS0-2000 Surface. The facility is also equipped with four Long/Triple Jump runways, Pole Vault, High Jump, and Steeplechase water jump pits. The stadium is also lighted for night events.
Oregon Ridge Park
Located in the rolling countryside of northern Baltimore County and just 15 minutes from Towson's campus, Oregon Ridge Park has been the Tigers' home course since 1988.
A very spectator friendly course, it has become the premier course in the Baltimore metropolitan area, being utilized by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference as their championship course, as well as several local high schools.
For more information on Oregon Ridge Park, click here.
(Photo courtesy Oregon Ridge Nature Center)
Unitas® Stadium Field House
The Ford-Vetter Athletic Sports Medicine Facility offers a comprehensively equipped area that serves the student-athletes' medical needs. This 3,000 square foot facility includes separate taping, treatment, rehabilitation, and hydrotherapy areas. The state-of-the-art hydrotherapy and rehabilitation areas include the Swimex system and Biodex training equipment. The facility also includes a physician exam room, conference room, and staff offices.
The Minnegan Room, located on the third floor of the field house is, named after long time faculty member, athletic director and coach Donald “Doc” Minnegan. It is a multipurpose room that has a breath taking view of the action on the field as well as the stadium. The Minnegan Room can accommodate up to 200 guests at social functions ranging from pre-and post-game parties, sports banquets and fund-raisers to wedding receptions. It is the ideal location for press conferences.
Additionally, the Field View Room, located adjacent to the Minnegan Room on the third floor, serves as a smaller complimentary multipurpose room. Ideal for conferences, it can accommodate up to 30 guests.
TigerVision
In summer of 2008, the state-of-the-art, high-definition LED video and scoreboard system was installed in the west end zone of Johnny Unitas Stadium. The cornerstone of the project is a nearly 45' high by 60' wide structure on the west end of Minnegan Field that consists of an HD LED video display scoreboard, backlit sponsor displays and backlit identification display.On the east side of the stadium is a new 20' high by 40' wide structure which houses an auxiliary scoreboard that will notify players and fans of the score, time and period. The main board on the west end features a massive 17' high by 47' wide LED display that utilizes the cutting-edge Daktronics HD-16 technology.
According to Daktronics' Rob Zeller, "Unitas Stadium is the only college facility on the east coast with this kind of technology. The HD-16 technology uses a revolutionary staggered pixel layout to optimize the number of full-color pixels within a given screen area. The closer the pixels are together, the better the clarity. With pixels only 16mm apart, the board allows for optimal viewing and provides exceptionally wide viewing angles free of color shift. Every HD-16 pixel is a full-color pixel capable of producing 4.4 trillion color combinations. As a comparison, the new Mitsubishi video board inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards is only a 20 mm pixel HD LED board.
About "Doc" Minnegan
Donald "Doc" Minnegan was a teacher, coach, physical education department chairman and Director of Athletics at Towson for more than four decades. He arrived at Towson in 1927 and he coached its soccer team until 1966.Doc's soccer teams were very successful, winning a total of 156 games, and 66 of 77 between 1930 and 1936, including a school record 34 straight. He also coached Towson to championships in baseball, basketball, track and swimming, as well as soccer.
Doc is the only American to publish an article in the British Football Annual on soccer theory. He was inducted into the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Hall of Fame in 1992. During his tenure as Director of Athletics, Doc established football as an intercollegiate sport at Towson in 1969. He died in 2002, just two weeks shy of his 100th birthday.
The stadium beared his name from 1983 until 2002. In accordance with that tribute, the playing surface remains Minnegan Field in his memory.
"The Golden Arm"
Johnny Unitas had a deep connection with the University. The former Baltimore Colts legend was the parent of three Towson students.As the Colts' quarterback, them to back-to-back NFL titles in 1958 and 1959. In 1958, he directed two dramatic drives as they beat the New York Giants in overtime in the "Greatest Game Ever Played." He was the starting quarterback in Super Bowl V when the Colts beat Dallas, 16-13. A ten-time Pro Bowler, he was the NFL Player of the Year three times. At the time of his retirement, he owned NFL career records for pass completions (2,830), pass attempts (5,186), passing yardage (40,329) and touchdown passes (290). In his career, he threw a touchdown pass in 47 straight games, setting a record that may never be broken.
Several weeks prior to his untimely passing, "Johnny U" began serving as community liaison for Tiger Athletics. His role was to assist in obtaining a naming rights partner for the university's new stadium. The legendary Golden Arm died suddenly, less than a week after tossing his last pass to commemorate the opening of Towson's new stadium at ceremonies on September 5, 2002.
High spirits returned when Sandy Unitas chose to assume her husband's role with Towson. With Johnny's two youngest children as Towson students, Sandy sought to memorialize her husband's legacy on campus by having the stadium named Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
Learn More
For more information on Johnny Unitas® Stadium services, policies and procedures, click here.
