Welcome to The Diamondback Sports Digest: your weekly all-access pass to everything Maryland athletics.
Maryland football’s slide continued in a lifeless, zero-touchdown 24-6 loss to Illinois. The news that dropped a day later was anything but uneventful.
Coach Michael Locksley will return next season, first-year athletic director Jim Smith announced in a letter to fans Sunday. Smith emphasized increasing Maryland’s NIL to support the seventh-year coach.
Confirmation of Locksley’s return comes as Maryland endures a six-game losing streak and hasn’t scored a touchdown in six quarters. Interesting timing for Smith’s first major decision.
“I spent 17 seasons on this campus, not many very people know the ins and outs of this campus like [me],” Locksley said. “To have two people now that share the same special vision that I have while also seeing the foundation of what we have … I see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Our Pick of the Week:
Signs pointed toward Michael Locksley’s tenure ending after this season, especially amid a six-game losing streak. But Maryland football’s coach will return in 2026 for his eighth year leading the Terps.
Athletic director Jim Smith could have made a seismic change in his first year, but instead opted for continuity — while pledging increased resources for the program.
Locksley wouldn’t elaborate at Tuesday’s press conference on where those resources are coming from or why they haven’t materialized since NIL laws took effect in 2021.
He instead emphasized his belief in a reenergized athletic department, led by Smith and senior deputy athletic director Diana Sabau, that believes in him.
“From the day that Diana and Jim got here … both those guys have played a huge role in [being] hip to hip with me,” Locksley said. “They have an understanding of what the future looks like.”
The timing is interesting.
Smith previously told The Baltimore Sun he wouldn’t make a decision until Maryland’s 2025 slate concluded, only to backtrack less than a week later by publicly supporting Locksley in his letter to fans Sunday.
“A level playing field requires a level commitment,” Smith wrote. “We are fully committed to giving him and our student-athletes the resources and investments necessary to succeed.”
The Highlight Reel
- How much has Maryland football relied on freshman quarterback Malik Washington? Deputy sports editor and football reporter Jake Kauderer dove into the data to find out.
- Deputy sports editor and men’s basketball reporter Ben Geffner analyzed the Terps’ surprising rebounding struggles.
- Maryland men’s soccer lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, but history shows the Terps can still make a deep NCAA tournament run.
- Coach Missy Meharg shouldered blame for Maryland field hockey missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1994.
- Despite an undefeated start, turnovers continue to plague Maryland women’s basketball.
Quote of the week:
“I have worked closely with Coach Locksley to rapidly strengthen our NIL support for 2026 and beyond, with a clear and focused effort on roster retention, recruiting, and being highly competitive in the transfer portal,” Smith said in his letter.
Locksley said Tuesday he’s never “complained, bitched or moaned about resources.” But it’s becoming clear that for him — and Maryland — to have a chance at competing in the Big Ten, increased financial support is necessary. Locksley deflected questions on how that money will be raised, saying “that’s above my pay grade.”
Up next
🏈 Football hosts No. 18 Michigan on Saturday, looking to snap a six-game losing streak and keep its bowl game hopes alive.
⚽️ No. 4-seed men’s soccer will host North Carolina or North Florida on Sunday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
🏀 Men’s basketball heads to Las Vegas for the Players Era Men’s Championship Tournament, facing UNLV on Monday and Gonzaga on Tuesday.
🏀 Undefeated women’s basketball hosts Bethune-Cookman tonight before welcoming George Mason to Xfinity Center on Sunday.
