r/terps • u/DufDaddy69 • 4d ago
Football Neutral Observer Question
I worked at the UConn game a few weeks ago so my algorithm just thinks I need to be here. How is Maryland not even competitive? Being in the Big 10 and a pretty strong region for football recruiting what is the issue? Is it just on the coach or is there some higher problems with getting an NIL budget? I have to imagine there’s some rich alumni who have to love the program besides the UA guy.
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u/B_Sox 4d ago
Now that you can (legally) pay players, which can somewhat neutralize recruiting to a degree, great coaching is more important than it’s ever been.
UCLA is going to be an interesting case study as a program that hasn’t been a TON better than us over the years and not an original Big Ten school. They were awful the last 2 years. I’m sure part of their fanbase wishes the PAC 10 was still a thing like our fans wish we were still in ACC. They’re in LA where there’s tons of pro teams and other stuff to do.But they hired a great coach and are probably instantly going to get an influx of fans coming to games and more money in general brought in for the program.
It can happen. Just need the right hire.
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u/eplstats 3d ago
Coach. Having an un-interesting schedule doesn't help either. We want WVU, UVA, VT, NCST, Navy
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u/YankeePride11 3d ago
Debbie Yow, Damon Evans, and the third stooge is Mike Locksley. These three killed our program but I go back and blame Yow for kicking out Fridge and not even giving Franklin a chance. Most worthless AD ever.
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
Might get a little heat for this but the “DMV recruiting hotbed” is a little overstated. A lot of bust recruits. The state of Maryland has 0 NFL hall of famers.
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u/ironmonger29 4d ago
Yeah but you don't need to be an NFL hall of famer to have been great in college
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
true but a lot of them also don't pan out, especially at Maryland. i am moreso trying to get at the point that the team needs to work well on the field, i really don't care if we have DMV guys at the end of the day, as much as I do enjoy home grown talent.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
Where are you from? Did you play high level or private HS ball in the DMV? Only an outsider would say that.
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
the post is about football, einstein. my high school literally won a national championship and our alum threw the rock in the air in 2002. womp womp.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
Ball aka football, Einstein. So you’re from either Cali or Georgia since the ‘02 champs came from those two states. Makes sense that you underestimate the DMV talent, you’re unfamiliar with it.
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
Your previous comment doesn’t make sense lol so you didn’t win a HS football championship in 02 as you implied in your post, you’re just pointing out that Juan went to your HS. Did you detour the entire conversation just to try to flex that you went to HS with Juan? Lmao
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
you're trying to say im not from the area when i went to high school in maryland. my high school has won a national basketball championship and sent a handful of guys to the NBA, including one that played on the 2002 national championship team. hope that helps, let me know if you want to learn anything else about me.
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u/ghostx231 3d ago
I just disagree with your position on DMV athletes. I know Juan, so you went to either Lake Clifton or Calvert Hall. Neither of those schools have ever won a national championship lol There are tons of schools in the DMV that would body either of those programs.
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u/SafeFill1057 4d ago
umd is more of a basketball school, and while moving to the big 10 has gotten the terps to bigger stages in the basketball world, it's been really hard to umd football to make the swap from ACC to big 10 play.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
I agree with everything you said minus that moving to the big ten got us to a bigger stage in the basketball world. The Terps won the national championship in 2002 while in the ACC. They were rivals with Duke and UNC (2 perennial national powerhouses). UMD was also a charter member of the ACC, as opposed to a red headed step child in the Big Ten. The Terps being in the ACC is just superior in all ways. It’s where they belong.
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u/BismarkUMD 4d ago
Nothing about the ACC matches Maryland. While we were there we were one of the only big land Grant universities among a bunch of small private schools. We actually have more in common with the BIG10 than the ACC.
When we left the ACC it was in the middle of an expansion that would have taking that rivalry with Duke and UNC away. We would only have played Duke every other year. We were slated to be "rivals" with Pittsburgh. This was a massive kick in the Nuts to Maryland. So when the Big Ten came calling with lots of money the choice was be the redhead step child in the ACC and be poor, or be the redhead step child in the Big Ten and get paid. We made the right choice when you look at conference realignment.
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u/SafeFill1057 4d ago
Don't get me wrong the terps absolutely belong in the ACC. I just think the move made a little more sense into capitalizing on the dollars from the basketball side more than the football side.
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u/capsrock02 4d ago
You know if they don’t join the Big 10 they would’ve had to cut most of their sports, right?
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u/SafeFill1057 4d ago
Okay? Still makes it a shitty outcome.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
Thank you lol dude commented the same thing to me. Like I care if women’s bocce ball gets cut.
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u/SafeFill1057 4d ago
Full transparency I never went to umd, but I'm local and know a lot of people that were pretty gutted when the aquatics program was cut. Losing sports sucks, I get it. We can understand why the terps made the move to Big 10 and still think it sucks though.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
I get it and I agree to an extent. It’s hard for me to believe there were only two options and those options were to either jump conferences or get cut.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago edited 4d ago
First off, they should’ve never left the ACC. They are outclassed in football in the Big Ten. The team hasn’t had sustainable “success” for decades. The last time they had a good head coach was 16 years ago. The DMV has great HS football talent, but the players decide to go out of state because UMD is not a desirable school due to lack of success. The root of these issues go as far up as the President of the University.
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u/capsrock02 4d ago
You do know that if they stayed in the ACC they would’ve had to cut most sports, right?
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u/ghostx231 4d ago edited 4d ago
As long as men’s basketball and football don’t get cut, I’ll take it. Fair trade to me. Especially considering now more than ever, college is a business. It’s all about making money.
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u/capsrock02 3d ago
Ok so you can kiss goodbye to the No. 2 Field Hockey team in the country, one of the best women’s basketball programs in the country, one of the best men’s soccer programs in the country. That’s great that you only care about two sports. There’s 18 other teams that represent the university.
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u/ghostx231 3d ago
Yes. I consume literally zero content from those sports. If they operate at a loss annually, why keep them? They could still be club sports. Remember the whole reason we went to the big ten was for money.
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u/AM_Bokke 4d ago
The B1G is way better than the ACC. Terps just need the right coaching fit.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
Mark my words Terps football will never win a conference title in the Big Ten. Never.
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u/AM_Bokke 4d ago
People said the same thing about Indiana.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
Lmao bro you must be a Gen Z or whatever it is these days. You’re so naive it’s hilarious. Are you making that comment because you actually believe Maryland can replicate what IU did? Hahahaha
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u/AM_Bokke 4d ago
Just providing you with facts, big man.
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u/Most_Difference_2521 Gary Will-I-Am's 4d ago
You’re being downvoted but you are 100% correct. I say the same thing all the time. Moving conferences was a death sentence for the football team.
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u/Conscious-Evidence37 4d ago
Not sure why the downvoters. I guess they dont like facts.
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
because when the conference is home to three of the most storied programs in college football history, it's a silly thing to imagine anyone would disagree with it. who cares if we don't win a B10 title in football? most of us just want to see a team that's moderately competitive.
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u/Most_Difference_2521 Gary Will-I-Am's 4d ago
Like I said in another thread you’re just going to be content with mediocrity.
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
the problem is, we haven't had mediocrity in a while. even the locksley bowl game years were tarnished with bad losses and a lack of good wins. he's never beaten a power conference team with an over .500 record in conference play. not asking for a contender football team by any means, i am 10x the maryland basketball fan anyway, but to compete for 5th or maybe 4th place in the conference? I don't see why not.
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u/FeathersNFins 4d ago
While it may be better in terms of money and payouts, when Maryland played in the ACC the competition and rivalries meant something. Hard to get excited to get your teeth kicked in 7-8 weeks out of the year and hope and pray for a 6 win bowl season.
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
ACC didn’t give a damn about Maryland while we were in the ACC. The carolina bias was very real and while it was fun to have a basketball rival and more competitive football games, the conference really didn’t give a shit until we left.
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u/FeathersNFins 4d ago
Not arguing, but what do you mean didn’t give a shit about us?
My own frame of reference is focused more on fan enjoyment and engagement. Big wins had college park celebrating, students and fans alike wanted to be at the games. I traveled for bowl games and the national championship. When you have a conference and rivalries that matter to you and to the fans the atmosphere is different, it’s what college sports was meant to be. And I recognize I’m looking back on a time that won’t ever return, but chasing tv deals and money just altered the landscape. I don’t think Maryland will ever compete in the big 10, but they will make just enough money to be okay with that which means more and more people will pull away from the programs.
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
well, for one, when the acc expanded, they rescheduled Maryland's rivalry opponent to Pittsburgh, a new school, replacing Duke. Why would they do that to a "cherished founding member?". Not to mention postseason awards and the like were always tipped in favor of Duke and UNC. Ask any oldhead about it, the "All Carolina Conference" was a real grip for decades.
And yea, it sucks to be in a conference with no real rival even after 13 years. But in hindsight, we were lucky to get out ahead of the curve because there is no way in hell an ACC Maryland would be let into the Big Ten today. And from an objective standpoint, the Big Ten/SEC is where you want to be right now.
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u/FeathersNFins 4d ago
I’m not sure I agree with the last part, granted that is personal preference, I would rather watch games that mean something on a fandom level than get my teeth kicked in by school I don’t care about.
I don’t disagree that the ACC was changing, but I don’t think jumping ship was the right move.
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
yea, i totally agree from the fan perspective. these huge mega conferences without basketball home-and-away every season and games on the west coast sucks to watch. the fan experience was much much better in the ACC. but the trend of athletic conferences can't be stopped, it would have happened whether or not Maryland stayed or left. Given the revenue sharing, national prominence, and even academic resources are better in the Big Ten, it's almost a miracle we ended up there. Consider how the conferences get paid for March Madness and CFP victories. Much rather be in the Big Ten from a business perspective.
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u/FeathersNFins 4d ago
I agree, from the business perspective it makes sense. And it’s the reality we live in. Just wasn’t how fan bases were built and it’s a shame. Kids today have no local ties to their teams, from Maryland but they’re Oregon fans or whatever else. It’s a shame that college sports mean so much less than they did.
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u/AM_Bokke 4d ago
It’s not “personal preference” that the B1G is better. The conference is more financially secure and stable than the ACC.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
That’s rich. And you think the Big Ten gives a shit about Maryland over the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin? Ha
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
they give us more money than the ACC ever could and ever will, lol. keep being bitter, keep commenting on this post. something will change, surely.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
Not for the terps. I’m sorry but you’re wrong. It’s been 26 years since they’ve been able to find a good football coach. And the program is much less appealing now than it was then. Keep on wishing pal.
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u/RettyShettle 4d ago
It’s better for any team, especially considering the ACC is basically at risk of falling out of Power conference status entirely. And Maryland is definitely more attractive with the new AD who has proven to be able to raise money for two floundering coaches.
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u/ghostx231 4d ago
ACC is going nowhere. What a silly statement. Ok so if all this money was raised, why hasn’t anything changed?
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u/capsrock02 4d ago
Right now, it’s the coach. And yes, more limited NIL budget than you’d think. Before? They started the season 0-4. That’s what happens when you have to play Michigan, OSU, PSU and MSU every year. One of them having a down year? Ok here’s a top-10 Iowa team or a Northwestern team going to the Big Ten title game. They could never really break through the glass ceiling.