The University Of Maryland Is The Laughing Stock Of College Sports

Want to know the last time the Maryland Terrapins were in the Sweet Sixteen?

9 years ago.

Before that? You have to go all the way back to 2003. Over 22 years ago.

The Terps are playing in the Sweet Sixteen tonight against arguably the hottest team in the nation, #1 Seed Florida. These should be exciting times for everyone involved, whether you are a player, coach, parent, fan, whoever. This is the biggest game Maryland has played in at least NINE YEARS. No question everyone is locked in, right?

WRONG.

It is 5:53 PM on March 26th, 2025. I look down at my phone to see a text from a reliable source:

"Willard to Nova is a done deal"

(there are now multiple reports/insiders releasing this information)

Kevin Willard has apparently agreed to a deal with Villanova checks notes IN THE MIDDLE OF A TOURNAMENT RUN.

We all thought this was eventually going to figure itself out. That it was a leverage play. People in the Maryland building felt good. Reports were saying they were still negotiating but it was going well. Then came the report last night from Jeff Ermann saying Willard and Maryland have agreed to the terms of the deal and were presenting it to the board of regents soon. Shortly after, President Darryll Pines posted a teaser tweet saying there was a "big announcement" coming. So yeah vibes were high... until today.

The big announcement from President Pines?

I mean...what in the living hell are we doing here Pines?? I almost Gronk-spiked my phone into a thousand pieces when I first saw it pop up on my feed. I was running hot like Bob Haynie.... I know Pinesy doesn't give a damn about the athletics department, but read the room pal. What are we doing???

Kermit The Frog...

Un-f*cking-believable.

You know how toxic organizations always seem to do hilariously dumb things or find ways to screw things up? The Cleveland Browns, the Dan Snyder Washington Football Team Commanders, the Peter/John Angelos Orioles, just to name a few.

Enter: The University of Maryland Terrapins.

The Maryland Athletic Department has been a toxic mess for quite some time. It began in the 2000s with former Maryland Athletic Director Debbie Yow. The tension between her and Hall of Fame National Champion Head Coach Gary Williams was so bad, you could cut it with a pair of scissors. Shortly after came the disaster known as Kevin Anderson. Here's a list of wonderful moments during the Anderson era:

• Forced out Maryland HOF football coach Ralph Friedgen after an 8-4 season

• Let head coach-in-waiting James Franklin (ever heard of him?) leave for Vandy

• Passed on hiring Mike Leach, who was the clear top candidate after Anderson named-dropped him during a press conference, then hired Randy Edsall instead

• Left the ACC to join the Big Ten (pros and cons)

• Fired Randy Edsall and hired DJ Durkin

We all know about the tragic death of Maryland OL Jordan McNair, so I won't get into it too much, but it felt like the University and the athletic department had hit rock bottom.

At this point, Kevin Anderson was basically gone, replaced by Damon Evans. Evans had been Anderson's #2 for a few years leading up to his promotion, but prior to his stint at Maryland, he was the AD at the University of Georgia. Evans hired Michael Locksley following the 2018 season. The start of a new era, with a familiar face. "The Best Is Ahead" was the new saying around Maryland Football.

Fast forward to 2024, and the "The Best Is Ahead" motto was still being used. That's because the "best" never came. There was a nice two year run with back-to-back 8 win seasons, but the team went 4-5 in-conference both years. Last season, Locksley's team lost 7 of their last 8 games, finishing 4-8 with a 1-8 conference record. Who was their one conference win against, you ask? The University of Southern California Trojans. Yup...

In 6 seasons as the head coach, Locksley's record is 32-36, with a conference record of 15-35. That's enough of a sample size to know that it ain't working. Do I think Maryland could find a better head coaching option? Sure, but it would honestly be tough. This job isn't as easy as it seems. Recruiting in this area is extremely difficult, and you don't have the donors to compete over top talent with the elite Big Ten (or even SEC) schools. The fan base is extremely fair-weather. There are two successful NFL teams less than an hour away, so fans won't show up unless the Terps are winning meaningful games. Locksley's career record against ranked teams is now 2-28. Those are the games that you need to win to get fan support. Those are the games that Damon Evans envisions this program winning. All of the money that is being poured into this program is supposed to HELP you win those big games, and yet, they don't...

...and that's why I see Kevin Willard's point. His team DOES win big games. His team DOES sell out arenas. He has proven (in my opinion) to have built a strong foundation with reason to be very optimistic about the future. However, he wants a bigger slice of the NIL pie, taking some away from the football team. He wants better resources for his team. He wants Maryland to be one of the elite basketball programs in the nation. He knew it was possible, like he said in his introductory press conference. However, Damon Evans continued to operate as if Maryland was an SEC football powerhouse and balked at Willard's requests. That, along with many other things that built up over time, left Willard no choice but to explore other options. I heard from my #sources early in the year that Willard and his agent were keeping an eye on Villanova's struggles. He did not get along with Damon Evans and he became frustrated with NIL/recruiting. I also heard that the family was not enjoying life in the DMV area. So this had some legs early on. Once Villanova fired Kyle Neptune, that's when the Scott Boras of college coaches, super agent Jimmy Sexton, began talking to the Wildcats. Also- Willard is really close with Jay Wright, so that could have easily sped up the process. Could it have been a leverage play to get what he wanted? Possibly, but it's clear now that he was disrespected and wanted out.

Now, is he doing it the right way? Hell no. He's burning bridges and turning the fanbase against him before the biggest Maryland game in 20 years. That's the thing that pisses me off the most. This was totally avoidable, and now Willard is going full New Jersey douche bag on the way out. The worst part is that this program is going to have to start from the ground-up again. Who's going to lead that charge? Is there anyone who is even qualified to be the head coach of a program that aspires to be a championship contender? Does anyone look at this situation and THINK Maryland is capable of being a championship contender? It's so frustrating man...

The University of Maryland athletics is a joke. It certainly does not feel like "the best is ahead".

At least we have Kermit The Frog...