She was picked up by Nick Novy, CSU’s sports information director, and as they made their way to the historic black college in rural Greene County she said she had something of a deja vu moment:
“When I saw the cornfields and some of the other things, I was like ‘Wow! This reminds me of my growing up in the country.’”
While she was reminded of her past, CSU saw its future and hired her.
She began the AD’s job Monday and, soon after, sat down in the administration building on campus and reflected on her roots and how eventually helped make her a Marauder.
She was raised, in part, on her grandparents’ tobacco farm outside Lawrenceville, Va.
“I can remember being 12 years old and getting up at the crack of dawn to help in the tobacco,” she said.
“I learned to pull tobacco and top it and treat it. I worked in vegetables, too, and even drove a tractor.
“I learned some valuable lessons back then. I developed a work ethic and saw the importance of team work and the importance of doing things for your family.”
Then, after a moment of reflective silence, she started to laugh: “But maybe the No. 1 thing I learned was that I wanted to do something else in life than work tobacco.”
And she was able to do that thanks to something else on her grandparents’ farm.
“We had an old, dirt basketball court there,” she said. “There was a wooden backboard, a homemade hoop and, occasionally, even a net. We would play out there all the time – my cousins, my brother, mostly boys, but my twin sister (Tonya), too.
“That’s where my love of the game began.”
She later starred at Manchester High School just outside Richmond, Va. and then played at Virginia State University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) but had her career curtailed by a torn ACL as a junior.
She said that’s when she really began to think about becoming a coach one day.
By age 26 she was the women’s basketball coach at Cheyney University in Pa. and eventually became the school’s senior women’s administrator and the interim athletic director.
Following nine years at Cheney, came stops at Elizabeth City State University, Norfolk State and Baltimore City Community College, where last season her team went 22-8 (11-1 in conference) and she was named Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. She was also the school’s athletic director.
At CSU, she replaces Jahan Culbreath, who moved up to a Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Athletics and will oversee the athletic department, intramurals and recreation, public relations, alumni relations and fund raising.
While he said he’s excited about the expanded opportunities of his new job, Culbreath also is confident he’s leaving the AD’s job in good hands with the 47-year-old Owens:
“Tara is a wonderful addition to the Central State University family,” he said. “She’s been a longtime coach and an administrator and knows both areas inside and out. We’re just happy and thrilled and excited to have her on board.”
Role model mom
Owens’ late father was a police officer in Washington, D.C.
Her mom, Patricia Terrangi – who raised her along with her Tara’s grandparents – was a warden for several different prisons, including the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, the Greensville Correctional Center and the Virginia State Penitentiary.
“My mom was my role model growing up,” Owens said. “She looks like an elementary school teacher, but when she went through those (prison) doors she turned into a totally different person. She ended up being one of the few women’s wardens at all-male facilities.
“I’d go to work with her sometimes and I’d be as scared as ever. But I stuck close to her and watched. She rarely raised her voice, but when something had to get done, just the tone in her voice was enough to make it happen.
“I ended up thinking if she can do all this, then I can do things, too.”
After her initial success at Cheyney State, Owens moved on to Elizabeth City State in North Carolina and in three seasons compiled a 58-31 record and put a team in the NCAA Tournament.
Then came an ill-fitting job at Division I Norfolk State. Her teams went 6-50 over two seasons and she said she asked for and was granted a release from that contract.
She spent the past eight years as the athletic director at Baltimore City Community College. In 2013 the school’s brass asked her to take over as the women’s basketball coach for just a season. She ended up coaching five years and winning 104 of 150 games.
At Central State she said she’s ready to put coaching behind her:
“Coaching will always be in my blood, but as a career path I always wanted to get to the level of administration. Like in coaching, you’re helping people reach their goals. It’s especially rewarding to be able to help young coaches – all coaches really – by sharing your experiences, the things you learned as coach, so they can succeed even more.”
Ready for the challenge
Owens admits she came to Central State unprepared in one area.
She doesn’t have much in her wardrobe that is maroon and gold – the Marauders’ colors.
She said she’ll rectify that soon, but her first days on the job have been filled with meeting people and “getting the lay of the land.”
She inherits a department that offers four sports for men and four for women. Funds are tight, facilities need upgrades and there’s a real need for more scholarships to get teams on more of an equal footing with most of the other schools they face in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“We’ll get to that, but the No. 1 thing I see as a priority for athletics and our student athletes is student retention and graduation,” she said. “That’s more important than anything. We want our athletes to get degrees.”
And facing all the challenges she will, how do you do that?
“You create an environment where someone wants to stay,” she said. “Most people will stay where they are treated well.
“For me, when I went to (Virginia State,) I found the HBCU experience to be amazing. It was just a very enriching environment. Now I want our athletes, our students, to have the same experience.
“That’s really important to me. I want to give back to a community that gave me a lot.”
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