The new Maryland football performance center at Cole Field House will bear the names of Darryl Hill and Billy Jones, the first Black men to play football and basketball for the Terps, respectively.
The announcement was made as part of President Darryll Pines’ inauguration ceremony on Thursday.
“Jones-Hill House is a fitting tribute to two men who were heroic trailblazers,” athletic director Damon Evans said in a statement. “We are excited to honor them with a permanent reminder of the impact they made on all of Maryland Athletics and the world of collegiate sports.”
[In his inaugural address, President Darryll Pines shares his vision for UMD]
Per a release from the school’s athletic department, the Jones-Hill House will contain the new football performance center along with coaching offices, indoor and outdoor football practice fields, team meeting spaces and a locker room and dining facility.
Hill played for Maryland football during the 1963 season, becoming the first Black player in school and ACC history. He was a standout in his lone season, racking up a nation-leading 15 touchdowns from scrimmage.
“It is a great honor to open those doors for all African American student-athletes to follow and now they will proudly walk into this beautiful building,” Hill said in a statement. “They will have a structure with a name that demonstrates what Maryland has accomplished in terms of racial and social equity.”
Jones played for Maryland men’s basketball from 1965-1968 under coaches Bud Millikan and Frank Fellows. On Dec. 1, 1965, he became the first Black basketball player in Terps and ACC history, debuting in a game against Penn State.
He would become a coach himself, leading UMBC from 1974-1986, including an NCAA Division II tournament Elite Eight appearance in 1979, the furthest run in program history at the time.
“A trophy might break, a photograph might fade, but a building will be there for a lot of people to see,” Jones said in a statement.
