The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's
varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...
in
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA)
Division I competition. Maryland was a founding member of the
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
in 1921, a founding member of the
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
in 1952, and a member of the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
since 2014.
The nickname was coined in 1932 by
Harry C. "Curley" Byrd, then the school's football coach and later the school's president. Previously, Maryland teams were known as the "Old Liners"—a reference to the state's nickname, "The Old Line State". However, the school newspaper, ''
The Diamondback
''The Diamondback'' is an independent student newspaper associated with the University of Maryland, College Park. It began in 1910 as ''The Triangle'' and became known as ''The Diamondback'' in 1921. ''The Diamondback'' was initially published a ...
,'' wanted a better nickname. Byrd thought "Terrapins" was a good choice because of the
diamondback terrapin
The diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin (''Malaclemys terrapin'') is a species of terrapin native to the Brackish water, brackish coastal tidal marshes of the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico coast, as well as in Bermuda ...
s native to the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
region. Byrd's hometown of
Crisfield was famous for the number of terrapins along its shores. The school
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
is an anthropomorphic turtle named "Testudo". The official team colors are red, white, black, and gold, derived from the
Maryland state flag. It is the only NCAA school to have four official school colors. On July 1, 2014, the Terrapins became members of the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
following 62 years of membership in the
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
. The university currently sponsors varsity athletic teams in 20 men's and women's sports, which compete at the
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
level.
History
The University of Maryland, College Park was established in 1856 as Maryland Agricultural College.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
and
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
were played on the campus as early as the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
era. It was renamed Maryland State College in 1916, and in 1920, merged with the state's professional schools in Baltimore to become the University of Maryland. Between 1921 and 1953, the university was a member of the
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
.
Longstanding tensions within the Southern Conference culminated in 1951, when it passed a ban on participation in
bowl game
In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...
s midway through the football season. At the end of the regular season, both Maryland and
Clemson were invited and accepted invitations to postseason bowl games. The Southern Conference sanctioned the two schools with a one-year probation in which they could not schedule any football games against conference opponents. On May 8, 1953, Maryland became a founding member of the
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
(ACC) when it and six other schools voted to split from the Southern Conference.
As a result of a committee's recommendation to cut athletics costs, funding for eight teams was eliminated on November 21, 2011, a move supported by University President Wallace Loh. However, the president also showed support for a "Save the Programs Campaign", which gave the teams a chance to raise eight years of total program costs by June 30, 2012. The affected teams were men's cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track, men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, women's acrobatics and tumbling, women's swimming and diving, and women's water polo. On July 1, 2012, the university officially cut seven of those teams. The men's outdoor track team raised $888,000 of a target amount of $940,000, which was deemed sufficient to avoid elimination.
On November 19, 2012, the University of Maryland's Board of Regents voted to withdraw from the ACC to join the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
effective July 1, 2014.
Sports sponsored
The University of Maryland currently offers 20
varsity team
A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...
s: 8 men's and 12 women's.
Baseball
* ''NCAA Tournament Regional Champions'': 2014, 2015
* ''NCAA Tournament Appearances'': 1965, 1970, 1971, 2014, 2015, 2017
* ''Conference Champions'': 1936, 1965, 1970, 1971, 2022
* ''Conference Tournament Champions'': 2023
Men's basketball
Burton Shipley was Maryland's first and longest serving basketball coach, but his lengthy tenure from 1923 to 1947 was described as "remarkably quiet". At that time, the sport was not widely popular in the
mid-Atlantic region
The Mid-Atlantic is a region of the United States located in the overlap between the nation's Northeastern and Southeastern states. Traditional definitions include seven U.S. states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virgi ...
and football and boxing were much better drawing spectator sports on the Maryland campus. To capitalize on the popularity, basketball games at
Ritchie Coliseum were held as doubleheaders with boxing matches for 26 years.
Bud Millikan
Herman A. "Bud" Millikan (October 12, 1920 – January 28, 2010) was the head coach of the University of Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team from 1950 to 1967. He compiled a 243–182 record.
Early life
Millikan was born in Maryville, ...
became head coach in 1950 and soon led Maryland to consistent respectability within the
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
. Defensive point guard
Gene Shue
Eugene William Shue (December 18, 1931 – April 3, 2022) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Shue was one of the top guards of the early days of the NBA and an influential figure ...
averaged 22 points per game and his scoring record stood for two decades. In 1955, the small Ritchie Coliseum was replaced by ; games were moved to the larger
Cole Field House, centrally located on campus, and when Maryland became a member of the
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
(ACC), the fanbase rapidly expanded. Millikan's tenure culminated in 1958 when Maryland won its first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship and advanced to the Elite Eight in the
NCAA tournament.

In 1969,
Lefty Driesell was hired by the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
. Drisell led the Terrapins to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, a
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
championship, two Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championships, and one
Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship.
[Lefty Driesell Coaching Record](_blank)
Sports Reference, retrieved June 8, 2011. Maryland also attained a No. 2
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
ranking during four consecutive seasons from 1972 to 1976.
[
Driesell coached the ]Maryland Terrapins
The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...
from 1969 to 1986. During his tenure, he successfully recruited numerous exceptional players, including Tom McMillen
Charles Thomas McMillen (born May 26, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and former professional basketball player. A Rhodes Scholar, McMillen represented Maryland's 4th congressional district from January 3, 1987, to January 3, 1993 ...
, Len Elmore
Leonard J. Elmore (born March 28, 1952) is an American sportscaster, lawyer and former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Elmore has served as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports and has served in the same capacity ...
, John Lucas, Albert King
Albert King ( Nelson; April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and ...
, Buck Williams, and Len Bias
Leonard Kevin Bias (November 18, 1963June 19, 1986) was an American college basketball player for the Maryland Terrapins. In the last of his four years playing for Maryland, he was named a consensus first-team All-American. Two days after being s ...
.[Milestones in Driesell's Career](_blank)
''The Washington Post'', October 30, 1986.
At Maryland, Driesell began the now nationwide tradition of Midnight Madness. According to longstanding NCAA rules, college basketball teams were not permitted to begin practices until October 15. Driesell traditionally began the first practice with a requirement that his players run one mile in six minutes, but found that the players were too fatigued to practice effectively immediately afterwards. At 12:03 a.m. on October 15, 1971, Driesell held a one-mile run at the track around Byrd Stadium, where a crowd of 1,000 fans had gathered after learning of the unorthodox practice session. The event soon became a tradition to build excitement for the basketball team's upcoming season. Midnight Madness has been adopted by many national programs such as UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Duke.
In 1972, Maryland defeated Niagara, 100–69, to secure the National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
championship. Driesell said that the season attained the three goals he had set for the program at the time of his hiring: "national prominence", "national ranking", and "a national championship".
In the 1974 ACC men's basketball tournament, Maryland was defeated by North Carolina State University in overtime, 103–100. Many consider it to be one of the greatest college basketball games of all time. North Carolina State University eventually went on to win the 1974 National Championship. Maryland finished No. 4 in the final Associated Press poll that season, prompting the NCAA to make a landmark decision in 1975. The NCAA tournament committee expanded the field from 32 to 48 teams, which opened the door for more than one team from a conference.
In 1984, Driesell led the team to the school's second ACC Tournament Championship. In December 1985, the university gave Driesell a ten-year contract extension. Earlier that same year, Driesell was made an Honorary M Club member. He ended his career at Maryland with a 348–159 overall record. His winning percentage of .686 is the best ever for a Maryland coach.
Gary Williams
Gary Bruce Williams (born March 4, 1945) is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, the Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. ...
became head coach in 1989, bringing Maryland back to national prominence following difficult years. By March 2010, Williams was the fifth-winningest active coach in the country and the third-winningest coach all-time in the ACC (behind only Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski
Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...
). In 2002, Williams led the Terrapins to the program's first national championship, defeating Indiana, 64–52. Williams retired in May 2011 and Mark Turgeon was hired from Texas A&M to be his successor.
* ''NCAA National Champions'': 2002
* ''NCAA Final Fours'': 2001, 2002
* ''NCAA Tournament appearances'': 1958, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1983 - 1986, 1994 - 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021
* ''Conference Champions'': 1932, 1975, 1980, 1995, 2002, 2010, 2020
* ''Conference Tournament Champions'': 1931, 1958, 1984, 2004
Women's basketball
Maryland Terrapins women's basketball has become one of the most celebrated sports on campus, due to significant success in the Brenda Frese era. After experiencing a period of national prominence under head coach, Chris Weller in the 1980s, including a pair of trips to the Final Four in 1982 and 1989, the Maryland Terrapins reached their full potential in 2006, winning the NCAA National Championship. In the ACC, Maryland was regularly a threat to win regular season and conference tournament championships, doing so on five and ten occasions, respectively. Since joining the Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
in the 2014–2015 season, Maryland has featured in every Big Ten tournament Championship game (as of 2021), winning five titles, and has won six of seven regular season championships.
* ''NCAA National Champions'': 2006
* ''NCAA/AIAW Final Fours'': 1978, 1982, 1989, 2006, 2014, 2015
* ''NCAA/AIAW Tournament Appearances'': 1978 - 1984, 1986, 1988 - 1993, 1997, 2001, 2004 - 2009, 2011 - 2019, 2021
* ''Conference Champions'': 1979, 1982, 1988, 1989, 2009, 2015 - 2017, 2019–2021
* ''Conference Tournament Champions'': 1978, 1979, 1981 - 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 2009, 2012, 2015 - 2017, 2020, 2021
Field hockey
The Maryland Terrapins field hockey team is among the most accomplished field hockey programs in the country, and have won a total of eight NCAA national championships and 16 conference championships (10 in the ACC and 6 in the Big Ten).
* ''NCAA National Champions'': 1987, 1993, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011
* ''NCAA Final Fours'': 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999 - 2001, 2003 - 2006, 2008 - 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022
* ''NCAA Tournament Appearances'': 1978 - 1984, 1986, 1988 - 1993, 1997, 2001, 2004 - 2019, 2021, 2022
* ''Conference Champions'': 1992, 1998 - 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008 - 2010, 2013 - 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022
Football
An unofficial football team composed of Maryland Agricultural College students played games against local high schools in 1890 and 1891. The following year, the school lent its support, which marked the official establishment of the Maryland football program in 1892. The football team has continued to the present day with the exception of a brief hiatus in 1895. In 1894, former Maryland coach and player William W. Skinner spearheaded the formation of the Maryland Intercollegiate Football Association, which served to award the state football championship.[Ungrady, pp. 4–6.] Maryland hired D. John Markey as its first paid football coach in 1902. H. C. "Curley" Byrd, who eventually served as the university president
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth na ...
from 1936 to 1953,[Harry Clifton Byrd papers]
, University of Maryland Libraries
The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library system in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore area. The system includes eight libraries: six are located on the University of Maryland, College Park, College Park campus, while ...
, retrieved July 4, 2010. began his playing career on the team in 1905. In 1911, Byrd was appointed as the head football coach, and he served in that position through 1934. During his tenure, Byrd was instrumental in growing support of the program, and in 1915 successfully requisitioned funding for the school's first stadium. In his position as university president, he was also responsible for building the school's current football facility, Maryland Stadium.
In 1945, Paul "Bear" Bryant began his long and distinguished career as a head football coach at the University of Maryland. The following year, he was replaced by Jim Tatum, a pioneer of the split T
The split-T is an offensive formation in American football that was popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Developed by Missouri Tigers head coach Don Faurot as a variation on the T formation, the split-T was first used in the 1941 season and allowed th ...
. Maryland football achieved its greatest success under Tatum, who compiled a 73–15–4 record without a single losing season, and to date, he remains the winningest Maryland coach of the modern era.[Year-by-Year Results]
(PDF), ''2008 Maryland Football Media Guide'', University of Maryland, 2008. NCAA recognized selectors awarded Maryland the national football championship in 1951 and 1953.[Past Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I FBS) National Champions]
National Collegiate Athletic Association, retrieved December 1, 2008. During Tatum's tenure from 1946 to 1955, Maryland also secured one Southern Conference championship and two Atlantic Coast Conference championships.[ In 1962, Darryl Hill transferred to Maryland from the ]United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
, making the school the first team in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a black player. Jerry Claiborne became head coach in 1972, and led Maryland to three consecutive ACC championships from 1974 to 1976. The Terrapins finished the 1976 regular season with an undefeated 11–0 record, but lost to Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
in the Cotton Bowl Classic
The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937.
The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...
, which ended national championship speculation. Bobby Ross
Robert Joseph Ross (born December 23, 1936) is an American former football coach. He served as the head football coach at The Citadel (1973–1977), the University of Maryland, College Park (1982–1986), Georgia Tech (1987–1991), and the ...
replaced Claiborne in 1982, and he repeated the feat of three consecutive ACC championships from 1983 to 1985. In 1984, Maryland quarterback Frank Reich
Frank Michael Reich (; ; born December 4, 1961) is an American football coach and former player who is the interim head coach at Stanford University. He played 14 seasons as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He became a coac ...
led the Terrapins to the then greatest halftime comeback against the defending national champions, Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. After a long bowl game drought, Ralph Friedgen
Ralph Harry Friedgen (born April 4, 1947) is a former American football coach. He was most recently the special assistant coach for Rutgers in 2015 after serving as their offensive coordinator in the 2014 season. He was the head coach at the Un ...
was hired as head coach in 2001, and in his first season, led Maryland to the ACC championship and its first Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...
game appearance.
The football program has secured two NCAA-recognized national championships, nine ACC championships, two Southern Conference championships, eleven consensus All-America honors, and twenty-four bowl game
In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...
appearances. Maryland possesses the third-most ACC championships with nine, which places them behind Clemson (13) and Florida State
Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
(12). Many former Terrapins players and coaches have gone on to careers in professional football including 15 first-round NFL Draft
The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
picks.[
* ''National Champions'': 1951, 1953
* ''Undefeated Regular Seasons'': 1893, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1976
* ''Conference Champions'': 1937, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1974 - 1976, 1983 - 1985, 2001
* ''Bowl Appearances'': 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1973 - 1978, 1980, 1982 - 1985, 1990, 2001 - 2003, 2006 - 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2021 - 2023
]
Men's lacrosse
The Terrapins men's lacrosse team is one of the most tradition-rich in all of collegiate lacrosse, having advanced to 14 NCAA Championship games since its inception in 1971, winning the title in 1973, 1975, and 2017. The Terrapins' lacrosse tradition traces back even further with eight Wingate Memorial Trophies between 1936 and 1970. As members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the school won a record league-record 25 championships. Since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2014, Maryland has won five Big Ten championships and three Big Ten tournament championships.
* ''National Champions'': 1928, 1936–37, 1939–40, 1955–56, 1959, 1967, 1973, 1975, 2017, 2022
* ''NCAA Finals'': 1971, 1973–76, 1979, 1995, 1997–98, 2011–12, 2015–17, 2021–22
* ''NCAA Final Fours'': 1971–79, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1997–98, 2003, 2005–06, 2011–12, 2014–2018, 2021–22
* ''NCAA Tournament Appearances'': 1971–76, 1978–79, 1981–83, 1986–87, 1989, 1991–98, 2000–01, 2003–19, 2021–22
* ''Conference Champions'': 1957–61, 1963, 1965–68, 1972–74, 1976–80, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1998, 2001, 2003–04, 2009, 2013–18, 2021–22
* ''Conference Tournament Champions'': 1998, 2004–05, 2011, 2016–17, 2021–22
Women's lacrosse
The Maryland Terrapins women's lacrosse team has won 15 national championships, the most of any program in the nation. The team has produced the National Player of the Year/ Tewaaraton Award winner eight times, more than any other collegiate program. The Terrapins have also made the most NCAA tournament appearances, won the most tournament games, and made the most NCAA championship game appearances of any program.
* ''National Champions'': 1981, 1986, 1992, 1995–2001, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019
* ''NCAA Final Fours'': 1984–1986, 1990–2001, 2003, 2009–2019
* ''NCAA Tournament Appearances'': 1983–1987, 1990–2019, 2021
* ''Conference Champions'': 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007–2011, 2013–2019
* ''Conference Tournament Champions'': 1997, 1999–2001, 2003, 2009–2014, 2016–18
Men's soccer
The Maryland Terrapins men's soccer team has won four NCAA Division I College Cup national championships, most recently in 2018. Under the guidance of head coach Sasho Cirovski
Sasho Cirovski (born 14 October 1962) is a Macedonian-Canadian soccer coach of the University of Maryland, College Park, University of Maryland. Born in Macedonia and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Cirovski led his University of Maryland, Col ...
, the soccer team has reached nine Final Fours and won three College Cups since 1997. The soccer team has developed a large, devoted fan base among students and the local community. The attendance record at Ludwig Field was set in 2015 when 8,449 fans saw Maryland win over top-ranked UCLA in extra time. The annual total attendance increased dramatically from 12,710 in 1995 to 35,631 in 2008.
* ''NCAA National Champions'': 1968, 2005, 2008, 2018
* ''NCAA College Cups'': 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1998, 2002 - 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2018
* ''NCAA Tournament Appearances'': 1959 - 1964, 1967 - 1971, 1973, 1976, 1986, 1994 - 1999, 2001 - 2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
* ''Conference Champions'': 1949 - 1951, 1953 - 1968, 1971, 2012 - 2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, 2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, 2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
* ''Conference Tournament Champions'': 1996, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2012 - 2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
Women's soccer
Since their season in 1987, the Terrapins women's soccer team has made 13 NCAA tournament appearances and reached 2 quarterfinals in 1995 and 1996.
Softball
The Terrapins softball team began play in 1995. The team has made four NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999, 2010, 2011, and 2012. The current head coach is Julie Wright.
Wrestling
Prior to joining the Big Ten in 2014, the Terrapins wrestling team won more ACC team championships than any other school in the conference, winning their 24th ACC title in 2012. The 2012 ACC championship is the Terps' fourth in the past five years. Maryland has finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships each year since the 2010 season and produced multiple all Americans since 2009, a school record. Two-time NCAA champion and two-time Olympian Kerry McCoy was head coach for eleven years until 2019. The XFINITY Center is the arena for the Terrapin Wrestling team.
Maryland has had over 200 ACC Champions, 2 NCAA National Champions, and 18 NCAA All-Americans. In 2010 Hudson Taylor became Maryland's first three-time all American with his fourth-place finish at 197 pounds. Spencer Myers became Maryland's first freshman in 2011 when he earned all American status with his sixth-place finish at heavyweight. The first wrestling team started in 1940 competed in the Southern Conference, with Paul McNeil becoming the Terps' first champion that same year at 175 pounds. In 2014, Jimmy Sheptock had one of the greatest runs in Maryland wrestling history, with a 32–1 record, ACC Championship, and the first Maryland wrestler to obtain a number one seed at the NCAA Championships, where he was runner-up to Ed Ruth.
The Maryland wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
team was dominant in the ACC throughout the 1950s and 1960s and returned to claim two more conference titles in the late 2000s. However, in its first season in the Big Ten, Maryland failed to win a Big Ten dual meet. After 13 tries, Maryland finally won its first Big Ten dual meet January 10, 2016, against Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...
.
In April 2019, former Edinboro wrestler and Missouri assistant Alex Clemsen was named head coach. During the 2022–23 season, a 4–0 start that included an upset of Pittsburgh gave the Terrapins their first win against a ranked opponent and national ranking for the first time since 2013, when Maryland was in the ACC.
Notable non-varsity sports
Figure skating
The Maryland Figure Skating Club began at UMD in 2004 and became a club sport in 2007. The club comprises three teams: a freestyle team and two synchronized skating
Synchronized skating, often called synchro, is an ice skating sport where between 8 and 20 skaters perform together as a team. They move as a flowing unit at high speed over the ice, while performing elements and footwork.
This complex sport orig ...
teams. All teams compete in and out of region through the United States Figure Skating Association. The Maryland Terrapins Black are the reignin
2018 Eastern Sectional Champions
in the Open Collegiate division
Skaters from across the three teams have, by invitation, performed demonstrations for a variety of publications, most recently being featured in the Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
ter.ps/FigSkateWaPo
Ice hockey
The University of Maryland has an ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
club, which competes in the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League.
Rugby
The Maryland Terrapins rugby team was founded in 1968. Maryland's best season was 1985, when Maryland played in the national championship final, losing 31–6 to Cal. (See National Collegiate Rugby Championship results.) Maryland plays in the Atlantic Coast Rugby League, a conference formed in 2011 along with other Atlantic Coast Conference schools. The Terps are led by head coach Jeff Soeken, who was a three-time All-American when he played rugby for Maryland.
Maryland was the champion of the league's inaugural 2011 season, defeating North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, 39–32, in the title match. Maryland repeated as Atlantic Coast champion again in 2012, defeating Clemson. Maryland placed 10th in the 2012 Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC), notching wins against Penn State and Oklahoma. The CRC is the highest-profile college rugby tournament in the country, held at PPL Park in Philadelphia and broadcast live on NBC. Maryland reached the semifinals of the 2012 ACI 7s tournament in Blacksburg.
Traditions
Rivalries
Virginia Cavaliers
Given their proximity and history in the Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
, there has been a longstanding multi-sport border rivalry with the Virginia Cavaliers
The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...
. Matchups in men's basketball, football, soccer, and lacrosse have historically been the hottest matchups in the rivalry.
Several factors contribute to the intensity of the rivalry. The two states, and their eponymous flagship universities based in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
and College Park, Maryland
College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located approximately from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. Its population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the home of the University of Mary ...
, respectively, share close historical and cultural ties. The schools are located in relatively close geographic proximity, separated by about . Due in large part to this proximity, the schools aggressively compete for recruits in the Mid-Atlantic region.[Eric Prisbell]
No Common Ground; They Battle for Position in the ACC. They Compete for Recruits. Most of All, Maryland and Virginia Fight Just to Beat Each Other
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', November 13, 2003. Former Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen
Ralph Harry Friedgen (born April 4, 1947) is a former American football coach. He was most recently the special assistant coach for Rutgers in 2015 after serving as their offensive coordinator in the 2014 season. He was the head coach at the Un ...
expressed the importance of the rivalry by stating, "It's a potential rivalry in every sport we play. They're border states. We compete for students, not just athletes."
The two are both long-time members of the Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
, with Maryland becoming a founding member in 1953 and Virginia joining later in that same year. When the conference reorganized in 2005, Maryland and Virginia were placed in separate divisions, but designated as cross-divisional rivals that continue to meet annually. The intensity of the rivalry is increased by a long history in the series of comebacks, shutouts, and spoilers that prevented one team from securing a conference championship or bowl game appearance. From the 1920s until 1945, the teams competed for the Tydings Trophy, named for former politician and Maryland alum Millard Tydings
Millard Evelyn Tydings (April 6, 1890February 9, 1961) was an American attorney, author, soldier, state legislator, and served as a Democratic Representative and Senator in the United States Congress from Maryland, serving in the House from 1 ...
who had several friends amongst the professors at Virginia. In 2003, the schools discussed reviving the trophy tradition, but it was ultimately rejected by Virginia, due to concerns over the reorganization of the ACC.
Before and after their meeting in 2010, players from both schools attributed the importance of the game to the negative feelings the programs have for each other. Virginia center Anthony Mihota said "I guess it's because we don't like them very much. Something about them that gets under our skin". After Maryland's victory, Terp linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
Adrian Moten commented, "This was a big win in the rivalry. They hate us. We hate them."
The high academic standing of the University of Virginia in a national publication has added to the competitiveness between the two. In 2003, University of Maryland president C.D. Mote asserted that, in academic terms, Virginia was "highly overrated these days ... '' U.S. News & World Report'' places them at the top of the pile with Berkeley, which is ridiculous." Mote further stated that students from the state of Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
paying a higher tuition cost to attend the University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
"don't know any better."[Doug Doughty]
Cavs, Terrapins a textbook rivalry
''The Roanoke Times
''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...
'', November 14, 2003. While the University of Virginia president, John Casteen, said such remarks can be taken out of context, Virginia board of visitors member, William H. Goodwin, responded in ''The Cavalier Daily
''The Cavalier Daily'' is an independent, student-run daily news organization at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1890, under the name ''College Topics'', ''The Cavalier Daily'' is Virginia's oldest collegiate daily and the oldest daily n ...
'', "I certainly think a college president should have more class, but you have to expect that from Maryland."
The rivalry has cooled since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten, but the schools have still met occasionally. The two schools have met in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in men's basketball and at Audi Field
Audi Field is a soccer-specific stadium in the Buzzard Point neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is the home of D.C. United, DC Power FC, and Washington Spirit soccer teams, and the DC Defenders American football team. The stadium seats 20,000 p ...
for men's soccer in 2018 and 2019. Virginia eliminated Maryland in the NCAA baseball (2015) and men's lacrosse tournaments (2019), en route to Cavalier titles, which has deepened the animosity between the two schools. The football programs are set to meet again in 2023 and 2024.
West Virginia Mountaineers
Maryland has a historic football rivalry with the neighboring West Virginia Mountaineers
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...
. While this has traditionally been a non-conference rivalry, it is usually regarded as a high quality non-conference matchup early in the season. It has historically been very competitive, with the Mountaineers leading the all-time series 28–23–2.
Duke Blue Devils
The nature of the rivalry between Duke and Maryland is not viewed in the same manner by the schools' respective fans. While the Duke–UNC rivalry originated from geographic proximity and shared history, Duke fans do not view Maryland as a rival. However, several former Duke players have cited Maryland as the team against whom they played their most exciting games. Maryland fans traditionally see the Duke game as the biggest game of the year. Maryland fans have rioted in College Park after home games, regardless of the outcome. Famously, one fan threw a bottle and hit Carlos Boozer's mother in her head after Duke's remarkable comeback from a 10-point deficit in the final minute to beat Maryland, requiring the University of Maryland to issue a public apology. One year, most fans in the student section right behind the basket had to leave or turn their t-shirts inside-out because they had a FCC-banned explicative ("F**K DUKE") that could not be shown on television. Michael Wilbon, a sports journalist who works for ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
, was formerly a writer for ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', and owns a home in Bethesda, Maryland, refers to the Duke–Maryland rivalry as " e of the best rivalries in one of the best basketball leagues in the country." In 2014, the Washington Post produced a short documentary on the peak of the rivalry from 2001 and 2002 which included interviews with Coach Williams and several former players from both teams.
Navy Midshipmen
While the two teams have only met 21 times, Maryland and Navy are the state's only two FBS Football playing programs and have irregularly played in a matchup dubbed the Crab Bowl Classic. The Midshipmen lead the all-time football series 14–7.
Potential Big Ten Rivalries
Since joining the Big Ten, there has been the potential for rivalries to develop with Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
and Rutgers
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
, two schools in neighboring states. While the matchup with Penn State has been traditionally one-sided in favor of the Nittany Lions and the series with Rutgers is still relatively new, either school could end up becoming a rival due to proximity.
Songs and chants
Victory Song
The Maryland Victory Song was written in 1928 by Thornton W. Allen. It is played frequently during Terp Basketball and Football games. During Football games, it is played after every touchdown the Terps score, regardless of whether the team is winning or losing, celebrating the immediate victory of accomplishment. Ironically, the "Victory" song is played even after defeat.
During the M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D section of the victory song, Terrapins fans show their clenched fists, and alternate pumping them in the air, beginning with their right fist on the "M" and alternating between left and right with each letter of the MARYLAND. The motion resembles someone climbing a ladder.
Alma Mater & Fight Song Other official school songs include the school's Alma Mater and Fight Song. Each of these are played at every home football game during the pregame festivities.
"Hey, You Suck!"
A popular saying among the students
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school ...
at Maryland is a simple "Hey, You Suck!" directed at opponents. Students have incorporated the phrase into Gary Glitter
Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography i ...
's popular sports anthem " Rock and Roll Part Two" (often referred to as the "Hey Song"). Sometime in the early 2000s, then-football coach Ralph Friedgen
Ralph Harry Friedgen (born April 4, 1947) is a former American football coach. He was most recently the special assistant coach for Rutgers in 2015 after serving as their offensive coordinator in the 2014 season. He was the head coach at the Un ...
asked that the song not be played at football games. Friedgen had never liked hearing the song since his return to College Park in 2001, and added that it hurt his recruiting efforts. In 2004, basketball coach Gary Williams
Gary Bruce Williams (born March 4, 1945) is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, the Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. ...
followed Friedgen's lead and asked that the song not be played at basketball games either. While he personally liked the song, he'd come to believe that it didn't help his team win games. More importantly for Williams, he'd received a number of complaints from parents and grandparents who did not feel that the chant was appropriate. However, the students have continued to sing the song without the band's support. Before each basketball game and after every touchdown at football games, the crowd sings the song a cappella. An alternative version, which grew out of the Duke-Maryland basketball rivalry, replaces the phrase "You Suck" with "Fuck Duke". The band returned to playing the song in the early 2020s.
Football and basketball
Key Plays At football games, in addition to making noise to throw off the opposing team's offense, Terp fans will also shake their keys to signify urgency ("Key" Plays). This often happens during 3rd down plays when Maryland is on defense.
Fist Pump
At the beginning of each men's basketball game during his tenure, Maryland Coach Gary Williams
Gary Bruce Williams (born March 4, 1945) is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, the Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. ...
would pump his fist to signify a good game.
Midnight Madness
Midnight Madness was originally started by Maryland Head Coach Lefty Driesell in 1970. Midnight Madness is held at the earliest time the Men's Basketball Team can practice, which used to be midnight on the first day of practice. Students would attend the practice and over the years it has evolved into a circus-like atmosphere, including light shows, magic shows, the mascot trampoline challenge, skits, food, beverage, and other fanfare.
Recently, Maryland and some other schools have moved the start of Midnight Madness to earlier in the day - generally around 7 o'clock - with permission of the NCAA. This is to encourage more families and fans who aren't even students to attend the event. As a result of this change, Midnight Madness has been rebranded as "Maryland Madness".
Newspaper Shaking
Maryland students attempt to read the newspaper as the opposing team is being introduced. They shake the paper as the visiting team is introduced.
Other sport traditions
The Crew
The Crew is a group of men's soccer fans. They generally sit behind the goal the opposing team is defending (switching sides at halftime) and berate the opposing goalie, referring to him by formal (given) name. Members of the Crew often travel to away games to continue to support their Terps. The Crew also organize activities to join the soccer environment.
Championships
NCAA team championships
The University of Maryland has won 32 NCAA team national championships, 26 while a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
.
* Men's (9)
** Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
(1): 2002
** Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...
(4): 1973, 1975, 2017, 2022
** Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
(4): 1968 (co-champions), 2005, 2008, 2018
* Women's (23)
** Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
(1): 2006
** Field Hockey
Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...
(8): 1987, 1993, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011
** Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...
(14): 1986, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019
* See also:
**
** Big Ten Conference NCAA national team championships
Other national team championships
Below are 23 national team titles that were not bestowed by the NCAA:
* Men's
** Football (1): 1953
** Lacrosse (9): 1928, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1967
** Rifle (4): 1947, 1949, 1953, 1954
* Women's:
** Cheerleading (7): 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013
** Rifle (1): 1932
** Lacrosse (1): 1981
* See also:
** List of Big Ten Conference National Championships
Hall of Fame
Maryland Sports Radio Network
See also
* List of college athletic programs in Maryland
This is a list of College athletics in the United States, college athletics programs in the U.S. state of Maryland.
NCAA
NCAA Division I, Division I
NCAA Division II, Division II
NCAA Division III, Division III
National Asso ...
References
External links
*
Women's Athletics collection
at the University of Maryland Libraries
The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library system in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore area. The system includes eight libraries: six are located on the University of Maryland, College Park, College Park campus, while ...
{{Maryland Sports