The school's sports teams are called the Terrapins. They participate in the NCAA's
Division I-A and in the Atlantic Coast
Conference.In the past five years, the university's athletics program has achieved national prominence, particularly in the revenue
generating sports. The football program had achieved little success for many years
when Ralph Friedgen, a Maryland graduate in the class of 1970, was
hired as head coach in November 2000. "The Fridge" has dramatically reversed the fortunes of Terrapin football in his three
seasons, leading the team to 31 wins, an appearance in the BCS Orange Bowl, commanding victories over
nationally-respected Tennessee in the Peach Bowl and
geographic rival West Virginia in the Gator Bowl, consecutive top-3 finishes in conference, and the only outright ACC regular
season title since Florida State's entry into the
conference in 1992.As successful as football has become, men's basketball is arguably still the
most popular sport at Maryland, and like football is under the guidance of a Maryland graduate, Gary Williams '68. Williams, who returned to his alma
mater in 1989 after successful stints at American University, Boston College, and
Ohio State University, inherited a program that was
suffering the after-effects of the death of Len Bias as well as NCAA rules infractions under Williams' predecessor Bob
Wade. After several years of competing under recruiting sanctions related to these events, Williams has elevated the Terp
program to the level of conference foes Duke and North Carolina. As of
2004, Maryland has recorded eight consecutive seasons of twenty wins or more, as well as eleven consecutive NCAA tournament
appearances, a feat that only four other schools in the nation have accomplished. In addition, they have reached the tournament's
Regional Semifinals (Sweet Sixteen) seven times, reached back-to-back Final
Fours, and in 2002, after navigating a very difficult tournament road (defeating past champions Wisconsin, Kentucky, Connecticut, Kansas and
Indiana), won the school's first NCAA
title in men's basketball. With one of the youngest teams in the nation, Williams led his team to his first ACC Tournament title
in 2004, a run which included erasing a 19-point halftime deficit against N.C. State in the semifinals, and erasing a 12-point deficit in three-plus minutes against
Duke to force overtime in the tournament final. With well over 500 career victories, including more than 300 at Maryland in
either the Cole Field House or Comcast Center, Williams is Maryland's all-time winningest coach, and is considered to be an eventual
candidate for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of
Fame.Beyond these primary revenue sports, Maryland excels in other areas. Women's basketball is in the midst of a resurgence under
former Minnesota coach
Brenda Frese, having advanced to the second round of the 2004 women's NCAA tournament -- the first
tournament win for the program in twelve years. Friese has also managed to attract top national recruits, beating out nationally
prominent Connecticut and Tennessee programs in the process. Men's soccer has been to
three Final Fours since 1998, and spent several weeks in the top spot of the polls during the fall of 2003. The field hockey team has enjoyed similar success, with a handful of Final Four
appearances and the 1999 national title. The volleyball team surprised many by
winning the ACC tournament in 2003, and also qualified for their own NCAA tournament. In lacrosse, the official state team sport, Maryland has been a consistent national leader. The women's lacrosse
team, under the direction of
Cindy Timchal, has won seven national titles, been an NCAA finalist in eleven of the last
fourteen years, and produced more All-Americans in the sport than any other
school. The men's program, while not having won a national championship for several decades, is always among the top 10 programs
nationally. The school's athletic director is Deborah Yow,
considered among the most efficient and forward-thinking ADs by those in the profession. Dr. Yow has succeeded in balancing the
Athletic Department's budget every year, while consistently upgrading the quality of the school's facilities and teams.