Johnny Unitas Stadium
Encyclopedia
Johnny Unitas Stadium at Minnegan Field is a multi-purpose, football and lacrosse stadium
in Towson, Maryland
.
hosts its home football and Lacrosse games at the stadium. The stadium is named for the Baltimore Colts
' Hall of Fame
quarterback
Johnny Unitas
, who had taken a job trying to find a corporate sponsor for the stadium with Towson University weeks before his death in 2002. In fact, Unitas threw his last public pass at the re-opening of the facility (as Towson Stadium) just a few days before his death. His widow, Sandy, felt it appropriate to honor him by having the stadium named for him instead, with fund-raising in his name taking the place of the money that a corporate naming would have supplied.
Minnegan Field, named after long-time faculty member, athletic director and coach Donald “Doc” Minnegan, is a FieldTurf
artificial playing surface.
In 2008, the Unitas Stadium scoreboard
was replaced with a 16:9 full video scoreboard. The new scoreboard stands where the previous scoreboard was placed. The old incandescent light scoreboard was placed at the opposite end of the field serving as an auxiliary scoreboard.
In addition to Towson events, the stadium has also been used for high school football and lacrosse events, the Under 19 World Lacrosse Championship, Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association Lacrosse Championships, several NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championships as well as competition in the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championships.
The Baltimore Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse
used Johnny Unitas Stadium as their home stadium from 2004 to 2006.
The 2008 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Final Four and Championship were held in Johnny Unitas Stadium, where Northwestern University
defeated the University of Pennsylvania
10-6, giving the Wildcats their fourth NCAA title in a row in the sport.
The 2009 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Final Four and Championship were held in Johnny Unitas Stadium where Northwestern University
defeated University of North Carolina
21-7. This was the Wildcats fifth title in a row in Women's Lacrosse.
The 2010 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Final Four and Championship were held in Johnny Unitas Stadium where University of Maryland
defeated Northwestern University
13-11. This was the Terps 10th NCAA title in Women's Lacrosse.
. It is a multipurpose room that has a top view of the action on the field as well as the stadium. The Minnegan room can accommodate up to 200 guests.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Towson, Maryland
Towson, Maryland
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...
.
History
The stadium was completely renovated in 2002 to accommodate a Division I team, and now seats 11,198. Towson UniversityTowson University
Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S...
hosts its home football and Lacrosse games at the stadium. The stadium is named for the Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
' Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...
, who had taken a job trying to find a corporate sponsor for the stadium with Towson University weeks before his death in 2002. In fact, Unitas threw his last public pass at the re-opening of the facility (as Towson Stadium) just a few days before his death. His widow, Sandy, felt it appropriate to honor him by having the stadium named for him instead, with fund-raising in his name taking the place of the money that a corporate naming would have supplied.
Minnegan Field, named after long-time faculty member, athletic director and coach Donald “Doc” Minnegan, is a FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
artificial playing surface.
In 2008, the Unitas Stadium scoreboard
Scoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game or match. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to...
was replaced with a 16:9 full video scoreboard. The new scoreboard stands where the previous scoreboard was placed. The old incandescent light scoreboard was placed at the opposite end of the field serving as an auxiliary scoreboard.
Tenants
It is the home field for the Towson Football, Men’s & Women’s Lacrosse, and the Women’s Track and Field team. The annual Fall Pep Rally is held at the stadium.In addition to Towson events, the stadium has also been used for high school football and lacrosse events, the Under 19 World Lacrosse Championship, Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association Lacrosse Championships, several NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championships as well as competition in the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championships.
The Baltimore Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...
used Johnny Unitas Stadium as their home stadium from 2004 to 2006.
The 2008 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Final Four and Championship were held in Johnny Unitas Stadium, where Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
defeated the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
10-6, giving the Wildcats their fourth NCAA title in a row in the sport.
The 2009 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Final Four and Championship were held in Johnny Unitas Stadium where Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
defeated University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
21-7. This was the Wildcats fifth title in a row in Women's Lacrosse.
The 2010 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Final Four and Championship were held in Johnny Unitas Stadium where University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
defeated Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
13-11. This was the Terps 10th NCAA title in Women's Lacrosse.
Field House
On April 26, 2003 the final renovations to the stadium were completed with the construction of the four-story, 48000 square feet (4,459.3 m²) field house located in the stadium’s west end zone area. The field house features offices, meeting rooms, locker rooms, class rooms, a film editing room an athlete learning center, an athletic training room and an equipment room. The rooftop patio treat guests to a view of athletic contests.The Minnegan Room
The Minnegan room on the third floor of the field house is, named after long time faculty member, athletic director and coach "Doc" MinneganDonald Minnegan
Donald Minnegan , more commonly known by his nickname Doc, is a former coach and athletic director at Towson University. He is most notably known for coaching two championship soccer teams at Towson.-Career:...
. It is a multipurpose room that has a top view of the action on the field as well as the stadium. The Minnegan room can accommodate up to 200 guests.