Towson's attempt to rebound from a subpar year begins with three consecutive games away from the comfort of Johnny Unitas Stadium.
The Tigers will travel to Jacksonville for Saturday's season opener before returning to Baltimore for contests at Johns Hopkins (Feb. 17) and Loyola (Feb. 25).
Some might scoff at the notion of a road game in Baltimore, but the larger point is that Towson will have to secure victories before unfriendly crowds and in unfamiliar settings. That's fine with coach Shawn Nadelen.
"It's a good challenge, and it's a challenge I wanted to do with scheduling Jacksonville and knowing that we also had road games in the state of Maryland, but also traveling to Hofstra and Stony Brook and UMass this year," he said during a media event Wednesday that gathered the head coaches of Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Towson and UMBC at Loyola's Ridley Athletic Complex. "I wanted to make sure that we understood how to travel, how to stay focused and prepare early. I think these first three games will give us a great opportunity to understand how to stay focused. We're going to have an itinerary. Our guys are going to know what's going on and how to be detail-oriented with that."
Saturday's projected forecast in Jacksonville is a high of 67 degrees and sunny, but Nadelen said the trip will not be recreational.
"It is a challenge, but I think all of our guys are just excited about it being a business trip," he said. "They're going down there with Jacksonville in their sights."