In their 12th year under head coach Gordy Combs, the Tigers compiled a 6–6 record.
[2] This year marked Towson's seventh and final Patriot League campaign, as the Tigers had agreed in 2002 to join the Atlantic 10 Conference for football, starting with the 2004 season.
Though they remained in Division I-AA, this move gave Towson a higher level of competition, more similarly sized schools, and the opportunity to award athletic scholarships.
By joining the A-10, Towson would also gain football matchups with Delaware, Hofstra, James Madison and William & Mary, all A-10 football members that competed with Towson in other sports in their primary conference, the Colonial Athletic Association.
In addition to being a local celebrity from his tenure as quarterback of the Baltimore Colts, Unitas had also been the father of three Towson students and had led efforts to find a naming partner for the new Towson football stadium.