| Maryland Terrapins football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current season: 2025 Maryland Terrapins
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| First season | 1892 | ||
| Head coach | Mike Locksley | ||
| 5th year, 21–28 (.429) | |||
| Home stadium | SECU Stadium | ||
| Stadium capacity | 51,802 | ||
| Stadium surface | FieldTurf Revolution | ||
| Location | College Park, Maryland | ||
| Conference | Big Ten Conference | ||
| Division | Big 10 | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1892–1893) Maryland Intercollegiate Football Association (1894, 1896–1897) Independent (1898–1919) South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1920) Southern Conference (1921–1951) Independent (1952) Atlantic Coast Conference (1953–2013) | ||
| All-time history | |||
| All-time record | 677–631–43 (.517) | ||
| Postseason bowl record | 13–14–2 (.483) | ||
| Claimed national titles | 1 (1953) | ||
| Conference titles | 11 | ||
| Rivalries | West Virginia (rivalry) Rutgers Penn State Virginia (rivalry) Navy | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 12 | ||
| Current uniform | |||
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| Colors | Red[1], White[1], Black[1], and Gold[1]
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| Fight song | Maryland Victory Song
Maryland Fight Song (Occasionally played) | ||
| Mascot | Testudo | ||
| Marching band | Mighty Sound of Maryland | ||
| Outfitter | Under Armour | ||
| Website | umterps.com | ||
Terrapins "Testudo" mascot logo
The Maryland Terrapins football team, also known as the Maryland Terps, represents the University of Maryland located in College Park, Maryland. The Terrapins are a member of the NCAA FBS Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 2014. Previously, Maryland was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Terrapins play their home games at Maryland Stadium in College Park and are currently coached by Mike Locksley.
Affiliations[]
- 2014-present - Big Ten Conference
- 1953-2013 - Atlantic Coast Conference
Seasons[]
2020s[]
| Season | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mike Locksley | |
| 2024 | Mike Locksley | 4-8 |
| 2023 | Mike Locksley | 8-5 |
| 2022 | Mike Locksley | 8-5 |
| 2021 | Mike Locksley | 7-6 |
| 2020 | Mike Locksley | 2-3 |
2010s[]
| Season | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Mike Locksley | 3-9 |
| 2018 | Matt Canada | 5-7 |
| 2017 | D.J. Durkin | 4-8 |
| 2016 | D.J. Durkin | 6-7 |
| 2015 | Randy Edsall; Mike Locksley | 3-9 |
| 2014 | Randy Edsall | 7-6 |
| 2013 | Randy Edsall | 7-6 |
| 2012 | Randy Edsall | 4-8 |
| 2011 | Randy Edsall | 2-10 |
| 2010 | Ralph Friedgen | 9-4 |
2000s[]
| Season | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Ralph Friedgen | 2-10 |
| 2008 | Ralph Friedgen | 8-5 |
| 2007 | Ralph Friedgen | 6-7 |
| 2006 | Ralph Friedgen | 9-4 |
| 2005 | Ralph Friedgen | 5-6 |
| 2004 | Ralph Friedgen | 5-6 |
| 2003 | Ralph Friedgen | 10-3 |
| 2002 | Ralph Friedgen | 11-3 |
| 2001 | Ralph Friedgen | 10-2 |
| 2000 | Ron Vanderlinden | 5-6 |
1990s[]
| Season | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Ron Vanderlinden | 5-6 |
| 1998 | Ron Vanderlinden | 3-8 |
| 1997 | Ron Vanderlinden | 2-9 |
| 1996 | Mark Duffner | 5-6 |
| 1995 | Mark Duffner | 6-5 |
| 1994 | Mark Duffner | 4-7 |
| 1993 | Mark Duffner | 2-9 |
| 1992 | Mark Duffner | 3-8 |
| 1991 | Joe Krivak | 2-9 |
| 1990 | Joe Krivak | 6-5-1 |
Overview[]
Since 1950, the Terrapins have played their home games at SECU 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 Wikipedia: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. Maryland shares storied rivalries with Virginia and West Virginia.
The program's achievements have included one national championship,[2] nine ACC championships, two Southern Conference championships, eleven consensus All-Americans, several Hall of Fame inductees, and twenty-four bowl game appearances. Maryland possesses the third-most ACC championships with nine, which places them behind Clemson and Florida State with 15 each. Many former Terrapins players and coaches have gone on to careers in professional football including 16 first-round NFL Draft picks.[3]
History[]
The modern Maryland Terrapins football program traces its beginning to the team first formed by quarterback Will Skinner in 1892 at what was then known as the Maryland Agricultural College. Since then, the Terrapins (commonly known as the "Terps") have experienced their most success under head coaches Jim Tatum, Jerry Claiborne, Bobby Ross, and Ralph Friedgen.
Between 1947 and 1955, Jim Tatum led the Terps to two national championships, two ACC championships, a Southern Conference championship, and five bowl game appearances. In 1952, Maryland quarterback Jack Scarbath was the runner-up to the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to college football's most outstanding player. The next year, coach Tatum led the team through an undefeated regular season. This resulted in Maryland being awarded the 1953 National Championship.
During Jerry Claiborne's tenure, from 1972 to 1981, the team captured three consecutive ACC championships and made seven bowl game appearances, the most of any Maryland coach to date. In Bobby Ross's five years at Maryland, from 1982 to 1986, he led the team to three consecutive ACC championships and four bowl appearances. In 1984, quarterback Frank Reich led the team to victory from a 31–0 halftime deficit against Miami (FL) in what was then the greatest comeback in NCAA football history. This period was marked by bitter competition for ACC primacy with 1981 national champions Clemson, and between 1974 and 1988, each team won six conference championships.
In 1986, when Maryland basketball star Len Bias suffered a drug overdose, it sent a ripple-effect through the athletic department. Bobby Ross said that he was offended by unfounded "innuendo, insinuation and guilt by association" aimed at the football team and resigned as head coach. In the following fourteen years, Maryland had two winning seasons and appeared in one bowl game.
In 2001, Ralph Friedgen took over a Maryland team that had one winning season in the past decade, and led them to an ACC championship and a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game in his first season. In the following two years, Friedgen became the only ACC head coach to have led his team to win ten games in each of his first three seasons. In his ten-year tenure, Friedgen led the Terrapins to seven bowl appearances. In his last year, Maryland concluded the 2010 season with a 9–4 record, a win in the Military Bowl, and a top 25 national ranking.
Randy Edsall era (2011–2015)[]
After Friedgen was let go, the Terrapins hired Randy Edsall away from Connecticut to be Maryland's head coach. The 2011 season was not a successful one for Maryland. Also for the 2011 season, Edsall removed the players' Surnames from the back of their jerseys for the first time since the late 1970's and continued Coach Friedgen's Homecoming tradition of wearing the regular Red home jerseys and Red pants. After a nationally televised win over Miami, the Terrapins struggled for the remainder of the season. They only managed to record one more win (against FCS opponent Towson) and finished with a 2–10 record and 1-7 record in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The team did attract national attention for its "Maryland Pride" uniforms that were created by Under Armour, who had become the official outfitter of the Maryland Athletic Department in September 2008.
After the 2011 season, Edsall fired both his offensive coordinator Gary Crowton and his defensive coordinator Todd Bradford. Mike Locksley, who had been fired in 2011 from his head coaching position at New Mexico, was hired to be the new offensive coordinator. Locksley had previously worked at Maryland under head coaches Vanderlinden and Friedgen, and was the recruiting coordinator for Maryland before and during the three consecutive 10+ win seasons under Friedgen. Brian Stewart, who had been the defensive coordinator for the Houston Cougars, was hired to replace Bradford as the new defensive coordinator.
Edsall's 2012 team compiled a 4–8 overall record and 2-6 record in conference play, losing four quarterbacks to injury, and eventually starting a linebacker at the position. In 2012, the Terps revamped their regular uniforms as Coach Edsall returned the players' Surnames to the back of the Jerseys and debuted 3 new variations of the "Maryland Pride" uniforms, a gray and white version called "White Ops" worn on the road, a all-black combination called "Black Ops" worn at home and a new variation of the Maryland Pride uniforms. The team's record improved from 2011 nonetheless but still not as much as fans, alumni and the administration had hoped.
The 2013 Maryland Terrapins football team under head coach Edsall improved to 7–6, capping the season with a loss in the Military Bowl to Marshall, The 61st and final season the Terrapins would be playing football in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Edsall's 2014 Terps finished their regular season with a 7–5 record, comprising a 4–4 record in Big Ten Conference play that put them third in the Big Ten East Division, their Inaugural season in the Big Ten Conference. Maryland ended its season at the Foster Farms Bowl, where it lost to Stanford.
On October 11, 2015, Edsall was relieved of his duties with offensive coordinator Mike Locksley named as the interim head coach for the rest of the 2015 season.
D. J. Durkin era (2016–2018)[]
See also: 2018 Maryland Terrapins football team § Player death and culture controversy
On December 2, 2015, the Terps announced the hiring of former Michigan defensive coordinator D. J. Durkin as head coach. Durkin had never before worked as a full-time head coach, though he coached the Florida Gators on an interim basis in the 2015 Birmingham Bowl.
In 2016, Durkin coached the Terrapins to a 6–7 record including a bowl loss. Maryland finished 4-8 and was ineligible for a bowl game in 2017. During the 2018 offseason, football player Jordan McNair died from an apparent heat stroke after a practice. Following McNair's death and news reports that players "faced abuse and disparagement" from football staff, Durkin was placed on administrative leave on August 11, just weeks before the start of the 2018 season. One of those football staffers Rick Court, one of Durkin's first hires and the strength and conditioning coach, was dismissed from Maryland due to sources describing his abusive training methods. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada, in his first season with Maryland, was named interim head coach. The UM Board of Regents recommended that Durkin stay as head coach after a report was released. However, due to intense backlash Durkin was fired as head coach on October 31, 2018.
Mike Locksley era (2019–present)[]
On December 4, 2018, Maryland hired Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley as their new head coach. Locksley, a D.C. native and former Maryland assistant, previously served as interim head coach of the Terrapins for their final 6 games in 2015 after Randy Edsall's firing. Locksley is known for his impressive recruiting ability, and has made an effort to keep many of them talented players that go to high school in the DMV in the area by convincing them to come to UMD.
The Maryland "Flag Unfurling" tradition.
The Locksley era at Maryland had an impressive offensive start with the Terps scoring 142 points in the 2019 campaign. In its first game, Maryland defeated FCS Howard University 79-0 and then dominated 21st ranked Syracuse University 63-20. The 142 points in its first two games marked the Terps highest-ever scoring output in consecutive games. The 63 points against Syracuse were the most points scored against a ranked opponent by any Maryland football team ever. Despite the excitement surrounding the undefeated and 21st ranked team in the country, the Terrapins suffered a disappointing loss to the unranked Temple Owls. After a strong start, the only other win in the season came against Rutgers, and the Terrapins would ultimately finish 3-9. In 2020, the Terps played in a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic playing only 5 games, all against teams from the Big Ten, finishing with an overall record of 2-3 and briefly paused operations in the middle of the season due to several players and staff getting diagnosed with symptoms of the virus. The two victories came against Minnesota at home in College Park on Friday, October 30th and on the road in State College, Pennsylvania against Penn State on November 7th.
In 2023, The Terrapins again won 8 games, jumping out to a 5 and 0 record before losing 4 straight, including a close loss to #1 Michigan. In the final regular season game against Rutgers, Maryland's quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 298 yards in the first half of the game, becoming the Big Ten's all time passing leader. Maryland capped the season with a dominant 31 to 13 win against Auburn, jumping out to a 21 to 0 lead in the first quarter, with the season's backup quarterbacks playing as Taulia Tagovailoa sat the game out.
Logos / Helmets[]
Image gallery[]
Championships[]
National championships[]
Maryland was selected national champions by NCAA-designated major selectors in both 1951 and 1953. Maryland claims the 1953 national championship.
| Year | Coach | Selectors | Record | Bowl | Result | Final AP |
Final Coaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Jim Tatum | Associated Press, United Press, International News Service | 10–1 | Orange Bowl | L 0–7 | No. 1 | No. 1 |
Conference championships[]
Maryland has won 11 conference championships in two conferences as of the 2017 season, eight outright and three shared.
| Year | Coach | Conference | Overall record |
Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Frank Dobson | Southern Conference |
8–2 | 2–0 |
| 1951† | Jim Tatum | 10–0 | 5–0 | |
| 1953† | Atlantic Coast Conference |
10–1 | 3–0 | |
| 1955† | 4–0 | |||
| 1974 | Jerry Claiborne | 8–4 | 6–0 | |
| 1975 | 9–2–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 1976 | 11–1 | |||
| 1983 | Bobby Ross | 8–4 | 6–0 | |
| 1984 | 9–3 | |||
| 1985 | ||||
| 2001 | Ralph Friedgen | 10–2 | 7–1 |
† Co-champions
Notable Alumni[]
- Boomer Esiason - former New York Jets QB, CBS NFL analyst
- Frank Reich - former Buffalo Bills QB, led biggest comeback in NFL history vs the Houston Oilers.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Logo and Brand Standards: Office of Strategic Communications. Retrieved on May 9, 2019.
- ↑ Past Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I FBS) National Champions, National Collegiate Athletic Association, retrieved December 1, 2008.
- ↑ Maryland Drafted Players/Alumni – Pro-Football-Reference.com.
