The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland, College Park in the sport of American football. The Terrapins compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Big Ten Conference. The Terrapins joined the Big Ten Conference on July 1, 2014, following 62 years in the Atlantic Coast Conference as a founding member. The Terrapins are currently coached by Mike Locksley. Since 1950, the Terrapins have played their home games at Maryland Stadium in College Park, Maryland with occasional home games from time to time in Baltimore, making them one of two FBS football teams in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area (Navy Midshipmen) and the closest Football Bowl Subdivision team to Washington, D.C. The team's official colors of red, white, black, and gold have been in use in some combination since the 1920s and are taken from Maryland's state flag, and the Terrapins nickname — often abbreviated as "Terps" — was adopted in 1933 after a turtle species native to the state.
Early history (1892–1946)
In 1892, the school then known as the Maryland Agricultural College fielded its first officially sanctioned college football team. They went scoreless in all three of that season's games, but the following year, posted a perfect record of 6–0. For the first two decades of the program, the team primarily competed against local universities and high schools due to the prohibitive nature of long-distance travel at the time.David Ungrady, Tales from the Maryland Terrapins, p. 4, Sports Publishing LLC, 2003, .
In 1911, Harry C. "Curley" Byrd became head coach and held that position for more than two decades until he was named the university president. In 1921,New College Body Planned in South, The New York Times, December 12, 1920. Maryland joined the Southern Conference where it remained for thirty years.2008 Maryland Terrapins Football Media Guide (PDF), University of Maryland, 2008, accessed December 9, 2008. Between 1935 and 1946, the school had several coaches that achieved fame elsewhere: Frank Dobson, a former assistant coach under John Heisman; Clark Shaughnessy, architect of Stanford's undefeated 1940 turnaround; and Paul "Bear" Bryant, who later became the long-time Alabama head coach.Year-by-Year Results (PDF), 2008 Maryland Terrapins Football Media Guide, University of Maryland, 2008. Bryant resigned after one season when a player he had suspended was reinstated by President Byrd.B.J. Phillips and Peter Ainslie, Football's Supercoach, Time, p. 4, September 29, 1980.
Jim Tatum (1947–1955)
Jim Tatum was hired in 1947, after a brief stint at Oklahoma where he had led the Sooners to a conference championship in his only season there.Gary King, The Forgotten Man of Oklahoma Football: Jim Tatum , Sooner Magazine, University of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc., Spring 2008, retrieved December 17, 2008. He was Maryland's sixth head coach in eight years, but Tatum stayed for nine seasons and became the school's most successful head coach in modern history.Records (PDF), 2007 Maryland Football Media Guide, University of Maryland, p. 55, 2007. During his tenure, he led Maryland to two national championships (one retroactive), three conference championships, three perfect seasons, six top-20 final rankings, and five bowl game appearances. Seven of his players were named first-team All-Americans, including five consensus All-Americans. Under Tatum, Maryland finished every season with a winning record.
After the 1947 season, the Terrapins participated in their first bowl game, the 1948 Gator Bowl, in which they tied Georgia, 20–20.1992 – Lu Gambino , Gator Bowl Hall of Fame, retrieved December 23, 2008. NCAA season-scoring leader Lu Gambino recorded all three Maryland touchdowns.2007 NCAA Division I Football Records Book (PDF), National Collegiate Athletic Association, retrieved December 5, 2008. In 1949, Maryland again played in the Gator Bowl, where they defeated 20th-ranked Missouri, 20–7. The Terrapins finished the season ranked 14th by the Associated Press.1940s , Maryland Football Historical Timeline, Maryland Gridiron Network, retrieved January 8, 2008. Maryland's current home field, Maryland Stadium, was constructed in 1950, and named in honor of former coach and contemporary Maryland president Curly Byrd. Maryland started the 1950 season ranked 15th and defeated Navy, 35–21, in the Byrd Stadium dedication game.Facilities: Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium , University of Maryland, retrieved January 8, 2008.
The Terrapins won the 1951 Southern Conference co-championship alongside the Virginia Military Institute. Their perfect season culminated with an upset over first-ranked Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl. At the time, however, the wire services released their final rankings before the bowl games,Vic Gold, The Greatest Game , Washingtonian, January 1, 2002. and Maryland finished third in the Associated Press Poll. Several selectors, including analyst Jeff Sagarin, have retroactively credited Maryland with the national championship.Past Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I FBS) National Champions, National Collegiate Athletic Association, retrieved December 1, 2008. In 1953, Maryland and six other schools split from the Southern Conference to form the Atlantic Coast Conference. That year, Maryland shut-out two 11th-ranked teams: Mississippi, 38–0, and Alabama, 21–0, won the ACC co-championship alongside Duke, and were named the national champions as the only undefeated and untied team in the nation. The Terrapins were defeated by fourth-ranked Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. After the 1955 season, Tatum resigned to return to North Carolina, where he soon died of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.The Coach, Time, August 3, 1959.
Tommy Mont (1956–1958) After Tatum resigned to coach at his own alma mater, North Carolina, Tommy Mont was appointed as his replacement.Text from Page 54, Reveille, University of Maryland Yearbook, p. 54, 1959, retrieved January 28, 2009. In his first season, Maryland was riddled with injuries and posted a disappointing 2–7–1 record.Year-By-Year Results (PDF), 2007 Terrapin Football Record Book, University of Maryland, 2007, retrieved 16 January 2009. Mont had great difficulty recruiting to the same standard that his predecessor had,K. Adam Powell and Woody Durham, Border Wars: The First Fifty Years of Atlantic Coast Conference Football, 2004, Scarecrow Press, . but managed to secure Rod Breedlove, a highly touted guard prospect.Atlantic Coast Conference, Sports Illustrated, September 23, 1957. Breedlove later went on to play eight years in the NFL and made a Pro Bowl appearance.
In 1957, the Terrapins improved to a 5–5 record. The highlight of the season was a game featuring Jim Tatum's return to College Park, Maryland. On October 19, at Byrd Stadium, Maryland met the North Carolina team led by their former head coach. The game also had in attendance Queen Elizabeth II who had expressed a wish to see her first game of American football. The Tar Heels were ranked 6th in the nation and possessed a 3–1 record. The Terrapins, on the other hand, were 1–3. In the first quarter, Maryland halfback Howard Dare fumbled and North Carolina linebacker Jack Lineberger recovered the ball on the Terrapins' 44-yard line. North Carolina was subsequently forced to punt, but recovered it at the Maryland 35. On the ensuing possession, Tar Heel halfback Daley Goff rushed 11 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Maryland gained excellent field position when Goff received a bad punt snap and the Terps took over on the Carolina 38-yard line. Maryland quarterback Bob Rusevlyan later scored on a one-yard sneak. In the fourth quarter, halfback Ted Kershner broke away for an 81-yard touchdown run. Fullback Jim Joyce capped a 67-yard drive with a 13-yard rush for a score. With a final result of 21–7, the Maryland players carried Mont to the Queen and Prince Philip's box.Bob Boyles and Paul Guido, 50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport, 2007, Skyhorse Publishing Inc., . Mont said it was a day that "I will revel in for the rest of my life."Maryland's queen for a day , The Washington Times, October 19, 2007, retrieved January 28, 2009.
In 1958, however, Maryland again backslided with a 4–6 record and Mont subsequently resigned.
Tom Nugent (1959–1965) At the first practice before the 1959 season, new Terps head football coach Tom Nugent addressed his team, "Hi, I'm Tom Nugent and I hate West Virginia." The Mountaineers were Maryland's first opponent of the season, and Nugent guided the Terrapins to a 27–7 victory in that game.
In 1961, Nugent's Maryland team became the first college football program in the nation to put players' names on the back of their jerseys.Dan Steinberg, When Maryland football first put players names on jerseys, The Washington Post, August 2, 2011. That season, he led the Terrapins to the best season of his tenure and finished with a 7–3 record.Bill Free, Ex-Terps coach Nugent dies, The Baltimore Sun, January 20, 2006. The Terrapins also defeated seventh-ranked Syracuse, 22–21.
Nugent amassed a 36–34 record during his tenure at Maryland.Thomas N. "Tom" Nugent Records by Year , College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved August 23, 2010. He remained the last Maryland coach to win his inaugural game with the team until Ralph Friedgen matched that feat in 2001.Maryland Shocks UNC, The Orlando Sentinel, September 2, 2001.
Under Nugent, in 1962, Maryland integrated its football team after Darryl Hill caught the eye of Maryland assistant coach Lee Corso. who had been encouraged by Nugent to find a black athlete to play for his team. Hill became not only the first African-American football player at Maryland but the first in the Atlantic Coast Conference and at any college or university in "the old South."
Lou Saban (1966) In a surprising move, Lou Saban unexpectedly resigned as head coach of the AFL's Buffalo Bills in January 1966 to the head football coach position at Maryland. He said he was leaving because "there can be little left to conquer in professional football". His record at Buffalo was 36–17–3. Saban, however, only stayed at Maryland for one season in which the team posted a 4–6 record, as he departed back to the AFL to become head coach of the Denver Broncos.
Bob Ward (1967–1968) In 1967, Bob Ward returned to his alma mater to take the head coaching position. Before the season, 12 players failed to academically qualify to play on the team.They Said It, Sports Illustrated, July 17, 1967. During that first season, the team lost all nine of their games for the first time in the modern era. Ward's second year saw slight improvement, recording eight losses but with wins over North Carolina and South Carolina. However, many of his players were growing increasingly disgruntled with his coaching style.
In March 1969, Maryland athletic director Jim Kehoe called a meeting among 120 players, Ward, his assistants, and a three-man committee. Thirty-one of those players told Ward that they no longer wished to play for the Terrapins and accused him of using intimidation tactics, including verbal and physical abuse. Ward listened to the player's grievances, but did not respond at the time. Two days later, he resigned as head coach. Later that year, Sports Illustrated interviewed Ward, and he said:"I won't go into all the specifics, but it wasn't the good players who started it. It was the guys who couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, guys who sat on the bench and couldn't take it and a couple of pip-squeak cub newspaper guys who don't know what football's all about ... He gets on the campus newspaper and all of a sudden he's got power he never thought of having.", Sports Illustrated, September 1, 1969, retrieved January 18, 2009.