Testudo arrives (June 7, 1933)
Graduates of the class of 1933 donated the iconic Testudo statue following their commencement. The bronze terrapin found its initial home outside the entrance to Ritchie Coliseum.
Over the years, the terrapin statue was stolen and recovered as far away as Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown and West Virginia. The statue weighs 400 pounds. It was later filled with cement to ward off thieves
Hail to the Terps (October 22, 1957)
Queen Elizabeth II attended a football game in 1957 and was featured on the front page of The Diamondback.
The front-page photograph shows the queen shaking then-coach Tommy Mont’s hand, as then-Maryland Gov. Theodore McKeldin — for whom McKeldin Mall is named — looks on.
The queen and Prince Philip made their way to the stadium in a royal caravan. There were about 43,000 fans in attendance. The Terps beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 21-7.
Graduates of the class of 1933 donated the iconic Testudo statue following their commencement. The bronze terrapin found its initial home outside the entrance to Ritchie Coliseum.
Over the years, the terrapin statue was stolen and recovered as far away as Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown and West Virginia. The statue weighs 400 pounds. It was later filled with cement to ward off thieves.
Vietnam protests (May 4, 1970)
Students rallied on May 1, 1970, to protest the United States’ invasion of Cambodia, amid Vietnam War tensions, according to Diamondback archives. The protest spanned 13 hours and continued throughout that month.
Police used tear gas and riot sticks in response to the rally. Students responded with rocks and bottles, among other things. The next day, then-Gov. Marvin Mandel declared a state of emergency on the campus.
A campus in mourning (June 26, 1986)
Students rallied on May 1, 1970, to protest the United States’ invasion of Cambodia, amid Vietnam War tensions, according to Diamondback archives. The protest spanned 13 hours and continued throughout that month.
Police used tear gas and riot sticks in response to the rally. Students responded with rocks and bottles, among other things. The next day, then-Gov. Marvin Mandel declared a state of emergency on the campus.
Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose just after he was chosen by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft.
Then-men’s basketball coach Lefty Driesell called Bias “the greatest basketball player that ever played in the Atlantic Coast Conference” according to Diamondback archives. In the 1985-86 season, Bias averaged 23.3 points per game and shot .864 from the free-throw line.
Four days after his death, more than 11,000 people gathered at Cole Field House.
Deadly tornado (September 25, 2001)
A tornado tore through College Park on Sept. 24, 2001, tossing a vehicle and killing its two passengers near Easton Hall. Then-Gov. Parris Glendening declared a state of emergency in Prince George’s County.
Forty-seven people were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, according to the archives.
“It’s total devastation,” then-university President Dan Mote said.
First basketball title (April 2, 2002)
A tornado tore through College Park on Sept. 24, 2001, tossing a vehicle and killing its two passengers near Easton Hall. Then-Gov. Parris Glendening declared a state of emergency in Prince George’s County.
Forty-seven people were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, according to the archives.
“It’s total devastation,” then-university President Dan Mote said.
Maryland took home its first national title in men’s basketball in April 2002, dispatching their future Big Ten rivals Indiana 64-52.
As the Terps secured their victory down in Georgia Dome in Atlanta, students back in College Park were feverish with excitement.
At least 10,000 students showed up at Fraternity Row to celebrate, according to archives. Students “mooned, flashed and taunted” police, who would about six people.
Arson in College Park (May 2, 2005)
A fire engulfed a home on Princeton Avenue in April 2005, leaving 22-year-old student Michael Scrocca dead and another student with critical injuries, according to archives.
Stephen “Tex” Aarons, a survivor of the fire, jumped out of a second floor window to escape the blaze and landed on a car. He had burns on 30 percent of his body. Freshman Daniel Murray, also a student at this unviersity, would be sentenced to 37 years in prison for murder in Scrocca’s death. According to court records, Murray had been taunted earlier in the night by a partygoer at the house and returned to set a couch on fire.
The University of Maryland started a “new chapter” on July 1, 2014, when the school moved from the ACC to the Big Ten.
Testudo joined his new Big Ten colleagues, including University of Iowa’s Herky the Hawk and Ohio State University’s Brutus Buckeye, at a block party at Nationals Park to celebrate.
Big Ten bound (July 3, 2014)
The University of Maryland started a “new chapter” on July 1, 2014, when the school moved from the ACC to the Big Ten.
Testudo joined his new Big Ten colleagues, including University of Iowa’s Herky the Hawk and Ohio State University’s Brutus Buckeye, at a block party at Nationals Park to celebrate.
