Maryland Terrapins at Maryland Stadium
College Park, Maryland, is home to the Old Line State's premiere college football program, and to one of the Big Ten Conference's newest teams. The Terrapins play at Maryland Stadium, which opened in 1950 and has a current capacity of 51,802. Their coach is Mike Locksley, who previously led the University of New Mexico Lobos from 2009 to 2011, and was Maryland's interim head coach after the dismissal of Randy Edsall in 2015 and the dismissal of D.J. Durkin in 2018.
Maryland Terrapins Football History
Football at the University of Maryland dates back to 1891, when what was known until 1916 as Maryland Agricultural College fielded their first team. Much of the school's current identity (including the "Terrapins" nickname) was molded by Harry C. "Curley" Byrd, who coached the football team from 1911 to 1934, and was the school's president from 1936 to 1954. Two football stadiums were named in Byrd's honor, but Maryland Stadium was renamed in 2015 due to concerns regarding Byrd's segregationist past. In 1945, Paul "Bear" Bryant led Maryland for one season, before leaving for the University of Kentucky. The Terrapins reached the pinnacle of their success under Jim Tatum in the early ‘50s, going undefeated in 1951, and following it up with a national title and the first championship in the newly formed Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953. The Terps won nine ACC championships under Tatum, Jerry Claiborne, Bobby Ross and Ralph Friedgen before joining the Big Ten along with Rutgers for the 2014 season.
While Maryland has had rivalries against West Virginia, Navy and Virginia, their primary rival in the Big Ten is Penn State, who has historically competed with Maryland for recruits. Notable Terrapins to have played in the NFL include Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Stan Jones, fellow Hall of Famer and Super Bowl XII co-MVP Randy White, and Super Bowl XXXV MVP Jermaine Lewis. Many Maryland quarterbacks have gone on to the NFL including Stan Gelbaugh, Neil O'Donnell and Frank Reich, who led the Terps to a stunning 28-point comeback against Miami during the 1984 season, before leading the largest single-game comeback in NFL history with the Buffalo Bills in 1993.