Athletic administrators probably dream of getting a chance to run their own college athletic department, with huge budgets, incredible facilities and national exposure. I'm not sure how many of them, though, would jump at the chance to take control of Maryland's. The big money-makers - football and men's basketball - aren't in a position to do so anytime soon. Eight sports are getting cut. The department is drowning in debt. Oh, and many teams aren't winning as much as they used to.
(Other than that, things are great.)
Yet, here you are, through the power of this blog, with the chance to right the ship. What would you do to fix the Maryland athletic department? What do you need to address first? Where do you go afterward? Why do you feel this is the proper way to go?
No answer is right or wrong. If you want to discontinue the football team, go right ahead. But whatever you decide, explain it well. Please post you replies by Monday at noon. Thanks.
Alan
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ReplyDeleteAt a time, UMD was known for the best student-athlete program. Now Maryland is known for cutting eight out of 27 sports programs including all three men's track teams, both men's and women's swimming and diving, women's water polo, men's tennis, and aerobics and tumbling. On the other side, our 2-10 football team received new jerseys that no one is really too fond of. The irony.
ReplyDeleteMaryland's football team...sucks, to put it lightly, but yet the school, and alumni, still contributes to them. I wouldn't say cut the football team, but at least take away some of its funding. If you take away at least 25 percent of the funding from the football team there's a chance that one out of these eight programs will still be running.
Then you have UMD's men's basketball team. They're 3-3 right now, but there is definitely still room for failure. They too don't deserve all of the funding they receive. If they cut these programs based on performance the football team should have been the first to go.
If attendance was a problem then students will have to take some of the blame. The students choose to go and watch Maryland's football team lose, again, rather than support the other sports programs that are doing fairly well.
If the programs weren't bringing in any money they should have been given the chance to fundraise a little longer. This isn't fair to any of the students or coaches who were impacted by this.
Personally, I think it’s appalling that Maryland has decided to cut eight of its sports.
ReplyDeleteOne of the solutions offered by the commission who recommended the eight sports to be cut was a change in fundraising efforts for the sports that remain. I think that obviously it should be expected that the teams that require more money should have to bring in more money.
I don’t think that the university should be supporting the large amounts of debt that the athletic department is building up by paying for it out of university funds. Though it would be awful to see the entire athletic department go down the drain at such a well-known establishment, I think it would be even worse for the university and its academics to take a serious hit to their funding.
While several million is a significant amount to save, the university has still agreed to honor the current contracts of student athletes and coaches of the sports that they’re cutting. In addition, it’s only expected that they’ll save around $5 million out of upwards of $50 million from the sports that they’re cutting. If they’re already paying student-athletes and coaches, they might as well come up with some sort of deal that allows them to compete as well. It seems similar to the situation of the university paying to buy out Ralph Friedgen as the men’s football coach just last year when they wanted to replace him. However, they’re not trying to replace any of these athletes or coaches. If you’re paying for these people to stay, you might as well let them do what they came to do.
While I understand that Maryland is trying to promote the equality of men and women’s sports by requiring that one men’s team and one women’s team be saved together of the sports that are being cut, this is one time that I don’t think that this philosophy works that well. It’s bad enough that the teams being cut have to make enough to fund eight years of their program, but I don’t think that they should be required to raise the support to save another program as well. I also think that this doesn’t make so much sense when they’ve decided to cut either a men or women’s program in the same sport. For example, men’s track and field and men’s tennis is on the chopping block while women’s is safe for the time being. In addition, I don’t think that they should automatically say that a team has to raise money for eight years. Who knows what the football team will be like in eight years. They could be atrocious, so if the teams to be cut want to make money to stay around on a year by year basis, I would think that this should be acceptable.
Though donors and those supporting Maryland athletics might be more likely to give money to the big programs, I think that the university has to step up and speak out for the smaller programs. Just because they don’t get as much coverage doesn’t mean that they are less deserving of the money, and I think that the university needs to make a point to split up the athletic funding more fairly, especially for those sports that require much less.
Ultimately, my decision for Maryland athletics comes down to a few things. I think that they need to allow individual teams to fight for themselves and not be required to raise money to save other teams as well. I also think that they need to let a team raise money to stay around even if they can’t raise the figures for an eight year period. Though I recognize that a lot of the problem is the money that is spent by the football and basketball teams, I don’t think that we should cut these programs because they do bring the most recognition and money, and this could be key to getting Maryland athletics back on its feet. With that being said, I think that the university needs to stop funding the athletic departments deficits. Make it known that the athletic department must bear the brunt of its bad decisions in spending and maybe the possibility of the whole department going down the drain will inspire fans and donors to give money and support.
News of turmoil within Maryland Athletics has been made national, with news outlets all over the country reporting the story. Even Michael Phelps has tweeted, “Please help spread the word #savemarylandswimming,” – a hashtag that is trending on Twitter.
ReplyDeleteBut even the support of a 14-time Olympic gold medalist can’t save the Athletics Department.
What can, though, are drastic, yet simple, changes within the department. For starters, it shouldn’t be dolling out more than $1 million to renovate four on-campus athletics fields. I know the plans for these projects have been in the works since 2008, but the department should have been flexible enough to delay them until they have more money.
Another change that should be implemented is field maintenance. Recent reports have noted that the grass on certain fields is being mowed as frequently as every day and is costing millions of dollars to maintain. When you are in debt, you can’t be spending money on things that are unnecessary.
And speaking of unnecessary spending, why did the men’s basketball team play in a tournament in Puerto Rico? If I was the athletic director, I’d be scheduling local tournaments, or at least ones in the U.S., to save every dollar I possibly could.
But, the biggest thing that the Athletics Department could do to save face and potentially continue funding the eight sports that were cut two weeks ago is to partner with DC United. There are talks of building a new soccer stadium by the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex that would serve both DC United and the Terps soccer teams.
But if the Athletics Department doesn’t have the money to fund eight teams, how are they going to afford building an entirely new stadium?
Here’s how: because RFK Stadium is no longer DC United’s first choice, the Athletic Department should offer Byrd Stadium (which is already going to be renovated) as a place for them to play their games for the next few seasons. The university should be able to keep a cut of the profits, generating excess revenue to decrease its debt.
On top of the fundraising that the eight teams are doing to save their programs, money that comes in from their partnership with DC United could not only save all eight teams, but it could eventually add up to enough to build a new soccer stadium.
So although cutting the football program may seem like the best thing to do after a 2-10 season, small cutbacks here and there, plus a partnership with DC United, could save the Athletics Department.
Prior to my enrollment at the University of Maryland, I was lucky enough to witness some great moments in Maryland athletics: the 2002 National Title, the Golden Age of Ralph Friedgen, The Triple Double Game, and multiple chances to storm the field at Byrd Stadium.
ReplyDeleteI became an “official” Terp during one of the lowest points in the university’s athletic history. I have endured two 2-10 football seasons, the retirement of Gary Williams, a new Athletic Director, and the departure of eight varsity sports to cover a $4 million dollar deficit in the 2012 budget that is expected to balloon to $17 million by 2017.
So as someone with a deep-rooted love for this university, I will be taking a crack at trying to save the Athletic Department and the future of sports as we know it at the University of Maryland.
The solution is club sports.
In order to make Maryland athletics profitable again, a few varsity sports need to be downgraded/integrated to the club level. Now I know the athletes would probably scoff at this notion, but here me out.
For the athletes of those eight teams being cut, my sympathy is with them and I applaud the department for honoring their scholarships. As painful as it was, the bottom line is that it needed to be done. Twenty-seven sports stretches the money way too thin and if a couple teams need to be cut for the better of athletics as a whole, I’m all for it.
Sports Illustrated did a story on a model for paying college athletes in their Nov. 7 issue (Pay for Play) and found that by cutting a few sports, they were able to save millions, much like Maryland is doing with these eight. In an accompanying story, they took a look at club sports and how it is actually much cheaper to fund these sports than a varsity team.
Oregon’s women’s club ultimate Frisbee team was funded only $4,500 by the university and had to raise $18,000 on their own. By comparison, the school spent $1,116, 214 on the varsity women’s volleyball team.
Now I have never competed in a varsity sport, but I did compete on the University of Maryland’s club swim team for two years. Having said that, I firmly believe that while there may be a drop in competition, there still remains a high level and satisfaction from said competition.
A lot of my teammates on the swim team were former All-Americans and former Junior Olympians. A member of the club basketball team made it as a walk on to the University of Maryland basketball team. My former roommate, a member of the club hockey team, was actually recruited to play on the University of Pittsburgh’s club hockey team.
Most club teams travel like varsity, with the exception that they car pool. As an example, the club swim team has traveled to Princeton, Penn State, and James Madison to name a few. We even took a trip to the Club Swim Nationals in Atlanta. Ga.They are all equipped with legitimate uniforms and even participate within their own leagues.
Club teams most also worker harder, instilling more values into the athletes.
"I know athletes who play varsity sports, and there isn't much difference," said Katie Weatherhead, who is the team captain of Oregon’s ultimate Frisbee team featured in SI. "We have gained a lot more life skills having had to work for everything, by not having anything handed to us. And isn't that what college is all about?"
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ReplyDeleteCONTINUED FROM ABOVE...
ReplyDeleteThis plan will save Maryland Athletics. It will allow millions to be saved for other programs and the teams that must be sacrificed can still experience athletic competition all at the fraction of the cost to the school.
As blunt as it may be, college sports are a business these days; if you’re not bringing in the revenue and/or not performing at a championship caliber level every year then it needs to be cut to prevent others from suffering.
Club sports offer a cheaper, cleaner, simpler and potentially more rewarding alternative. I’m a die-hard fan and yearn to be part of a fan base where our sports teams do not need to deal with deficits and budget cuts, but with revenue and championship seasons.
I think that’s a club we’d all like to be a part of.
While looking at colleges during my senior year of high school, I knew I wanted a university with a “big-name” athletics department. I wanted the opportunity to cheer on elite teams at high-stakes games. I wanted to feel a part of something larger than myself. I wanted to find out the true meaning of “school spirit.”
ReplyDeleteAnd when I arrived on this campus in August of 2009, that’s exactly what I found. Nearly every student seemed to be wearing Terps gear, and securing a ticket to a football or basketball game required some planning ahead.
But over the past year or so, things have changed. The bleachers in Byrd Stadium are empty. The men’s basketball team was picked to finish ninth in the ACC. And perhaps most concerning, the overall enthusiasm surrounding our teams has died down. Students and fans just don’t seem to care about the Terps as much as they once did.
That’s a major problem for an athletics department facing an $83 million deficit.
Trying to bridge that massive divide, President Wallace Loh announced the elimination of eight teams on Nov. 19. Just 10 days later, Athletic Director Kevin Anderson said the department will spend $1 million renovating four different on-campus athletics fields.
It’s clear the figureheads have no idea what they’re doing. They need to understand that the process must start with the fans. After all, no athletics department can be successful if it doesn’t have a sizeable fan base to lean on. Loh and Anderson have to figure out a way to get people excited about the Terps again.
To the casual critic, the solution’s simple: Get the teams winning again. The fans will flock if they have a product worth supporting.
But the reality is, fans don’t necessarily need wins. They just need to see signs that their teams are making concerted efforts to win.
That’s the case for just for at least one of the Terps’ two biggest moneymakers right now.
Gary Williams’ unexpected retirement last May forced the team into rebuilding mode. Star forward Jordan Williams darted for the NBA, two prized recruits jumped ship and the Terps were left with just eight scholarship players.
But Anderson hired former Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon, and the team appears headed back to prominence. Turgeon’s secured a top-20 recruiting class for next year, and the pieces are in place for a bright future. Although the Comcast Center has yet to sell out this season, ticket sales are sure to rise as fans continue to see the program move in the right direction.
The football program, however, is in complete disarray. Coach Randy Edsall’s first year in College Park was a nightmare. After grabbing nine wins last season, the Terps stumbled to a 2-10 record and finished at the bottom of the ACC. In the week following their season-ending loss at N.C. State, two players announced their intensions to transfer. Many more are expected to follow.
And just as players are losing their will to suit up in the red and yellow, fans are losing their desire to watch. The Terps posted their lowest attendance numbers in decades this season. The student section was almost completely empty on more than one occasion. “Terps Nation” has bucked Edsall’s no-nonsense, militaristic approach.
That’s why Edsall must be fired. Today. If he stays, contributions to the athletic program—already down in recent years—will continue to fade. Even Barry Gossett, a member of the committee that recommended the cutbacks, knows that can’t happen.
“Without success in football and basketball,” he said, “we’re not going to have a great deal of income to work with.”
Anderson needs to recognize he made a mistake by hiring Edsall last January, and find someone who can get people excited about the Terps again.
It’s too bad Washington State hired Mike Leach on Thursday. The former Texas Tech coach would’ve brought the hype and intrigue College Park has missed in recent months.
Continued from above...
ReplyDeleteBut even if the Edsall disaster keeps any “big name” candidates away, the Terps must make a change. The deficit won’t go away unless Loh and Anderson step up and make some difficult decisions.
It’s time Maryland gets a boost of school spirit. That boost requires Edsall get the boot.
Is “build a time machine and slap Debbie Yow in the early-2000s” an acceptable answer?
ReplyDeleteProbably not.
I’ve been pondering how to fix the Maryland athletic department since I arrived in College Park and have been utterly appalled by the incompetence of its executives during my tenure.
First and foremost, I would drastically reform the department’s media relations. Maryland should want to cultivate a more positive public image and the current public relations staff is falling flat on its face in doing so. One-word answers, failure to respond to basic inquiries and hostility have become commonplace in dealings with the sports information department. This even applies to non-revenue sports, where some SIDs act like the media is inconveniencing them.
If there were more transparency, the media would be less standoffish towards the athletic department, which has frustrated reporters and no doubt contributed to the scathing columns in the last several years. Public perception plays a crucial role in everything from ticket sales to donations to recruiting. The sports information department should be gutted and restocked with some younger blood.
I agree with the recent decision to cut eight sports. 27 was far too many, and the sports being cut were losing exorbitant amounts of money. There is no way to justify losing nearly $2 million a year on swimming.
I would also cut both men’s and women’s golf. Two more sports that are vacuums for funds that give back nothing to the university community in terms of profit or pride.
They say “you have to spend money to make money,” and the athletic department needs to make some basic, wise investments in order to generate revenue down the line. Primarily, the improvement of its facilities.
For some reason, the Comcast Center was not built with steel rigging along the roof, which would provide the ability to host major concerts. The athletic department has been missing out on tons of revenue over the last decade, as its newest facility sits dormant for most of the year.
The athletic department has been looking into upgrading the facility recently, and I commend it for finally taking the initiative. Better late than never. According do an article in The Diamondback, the renovation would only cost $500,000. However, Comcast’s scoreboard was not built to be relocated and will be a major obstacle for renovations. Yet another example of Yow’s shortsightedness during her time as athletic director, which has, and will continue to handicap the department.
Secondly, the playing surface at Byrd Stadium needs to be fixed. The field is one of the worst in the ACC, if not the entire country. I propose that the athletic department install field turf at Byrd. Having spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Tyson Tower, you would imagine that the athletic department would have gone all out in order to make the stadium look good. A new field would make the stadium much more aesthetically pleasing (vital for recruiting) and more importantly, provide a better surface, which will cut down injuries.
In addition, D.C. United will be looking for a temporary home in the next year or so. Owner Will Chang has said that the team’s current least with RFK Stadium is not sustainable long-term, and are looking to sign a short-term lease with RFK or elsewhere. He claims that United pay more than any other MLS team for their stadium, and that it is the worst stadium in the league.
Sources have told the Washington Post’s Steve Goff that there have been very informal talks between United and the Maryland athletic department about United using Byrd Stadium as a temporary home. Financial details are hard to come by, but any income for the department is a positive. Not to mention it would increase the university’s exposure, and would gain additional revenue from parking, concessions, fans visiting the nearby student union, etc
There is no simple fix to the current situation, but my plan is a start.
Better communication and more revenue. Sounds simple right?
It’s unfortunate, but there is no easy fix for the Maryland athletic department right now. The recent announcement that eight programs will be cut is troubling, but under the circumstances it seems like the only move that could be made.
ReplyDeleteMaking some small cuts here and there throughout the entire athletic department across all sports might help address some of the issues the department is facing. For example, travel should be limited for the time being for non-revenue sports, in order to keep costs down. This might be difficult to do for football, because schedules are made years in advance, but for non-revenue teams, it would be help save some funds.
I also think that maintenance on some of the athletic facilities can be ratcheted down just a bit for the purpose of saving money. While it’s great to have practice fields in beautiful shape, the maintenance obviously costs money. I don’t think that programs would suffer too much if the department cut some corners in this area.
It’s also crucial to build support for all the teams on campus and throughout the local area. Many of these sports have little fan support, which could change if the athletic department targeted more students and local groups to come to games. When you draw more fans, there are more ways to make money and build a larger support network that can come to these programs’ aid in times like the athletic department is currently facing.
I think that the wrong action to take right now is to go after football. While the program runs up much higher expenses than non-revenue programs, they are just that: non-revenue programs. I feel for the athletes on the teams that were cut, but when you get down to it, football can make a ton of money for an athletic department and it can create a lot more positive exposure for the entire school.
The athletic department, therefore, must be committed to helping the football program in every way to becoming successful. Ideas to take away some football scholarships are foolish, because that will only weaken the program further.
Fixing the football program is another question that has no immediate answer. Winning is the only thing that will start bringing in money. While Randy Edsall had a terrible first year, he deserves a chance to prove what he can do over the next few years with his own recruits. He proved at Connecticut that he could achieve some success as a young energetic coach.
While John Feinstein argues that he should be fired immediately, thus creating another few million dollars of debt, I think that more time is needed to evaluate Edsall. I agree that his performance, both on the field and with the media, was awful, but right now, the best hope for the football program and athletic department as a whole is to pray that Edsall can turn things around.
For basketball, hopefully Mark Turgeon can help a team with low expectations rise above them to offer some hope for the future. If he can show that the program is moving in the right direction, there will be no issue in attracting fans and excitement to a program that can help alleviate some of the debt.
While it might be reactionary and lacking in decisive action, my solution for the athletic department’s mess to is wait and hope. If the football and basketball programs can rise from the ashes, things might just become easier. That’s a huge “if” though.
Who’s debt is it anyway? This is the first question I would ask when trying to decide how to reorganize the University of Maryland’s athletic department. Since all students pay tuition and the athletes are students first I’d go for the fair approach. The best way to fix the problem is to figure out which teams are costing the most but producing the least. Being on an athletic team is all about representing your school so those who represent the Terrapins well by winning and adding to the positive image of the University of Maryland should reap the most benefits.
ReplyDeleteThe administration says debt is the reason these teams need to be cut when the actual reason is bad decision making. Over the years the university has pumped money into teams that are not producing. Common sense would tell any smart investor that if a team is losing, revenue for that team will decrease. For instance, instead of cutting its losses by reducing funding to the football program the university decided to pump more money into team that went on to play a miserable season of football.
While the gymnastics team was out raising $31,000 for breast cancer awareness, the football team was being fitted for atrocious new uniforms that drew national media attention making the fact that they had an equally atrocious season even more obvious. The university paid to break its contract with the last football coach to hire a man that doesn’t believe in having his players weight train. As a result the players have been running around the field all semester and have slimmed down so much that they get injured easily. This is just another example of an expensive bad investment.
Instead of buying extravagantly designed buses the university should have been more focused on keeping its budget balanced so that it wouldn’t have to take such egregious action. So if given the power to re-evaluate how Maryland athletics are funded I would make the system completely merit based.
1. What is the win/loss record of the team?
2. How does the team contribute to the campus community?
3. What’s the cumulative GPA of the team?
4. How much money does the team stand to bring in to the university and will that amount cover the costs of having the team?
These are just a few of the questions I think should have been addressed before nixing the collegiate athletic careers of students who may or may not have turned down other offers just to represent the Terrapins.
In the early 2000s, the University of Maryland athletic department’s revenue skyrocketed thanks to successful basketball and football teams. Yet, 11 years down the road, the department has been unsuccessful in keeping its bank account free and clear of being in the red.
ReplyDeleteRevenues for these two big sports have plummeted, along with ticket sales, according to Maryland’s financial documents filed with the NCAA. A new basketball arena and renovations to Byrd Stadium, putting aside the new Under Armour football uniforms they spent fortunes on that no one seemed to favor, have significantly contributed to the department’s debt. But with these efforts to improve basketball and football, the department is not seeing any financial return.
Many would reason that the talent just isn’t there, and therefore, is a direct cause in the decrease in ticket sales. In order to fix this one problem, Maryland needs to find a way to get the states’ top athletes to stay here. Local high schools have talented athletes, yet these athletes choose to play out of state simply because the Terps do not recruit as much as they should in state.
In order to find additional revenue to help save Maryland athletics, especially the eight programs they are deciding to cut this year, the athletic department should partner with DC United, the popular soccer team that can only bring revenue to the university. While this charter member of Major League Soccer finalizes a new stadium location, ideally next to the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex, the Maryland athletic department can schedule games at Byrd stadium. Imagine having many sold-out games because not only regular, dedicated fans will want to attend, but students as well out of mere interest and accessibility.
In the meantime, the department needs to cut back on unnecessary spending. Every university has the dream of having a top-notch athletic department; but when dealing with serious debt, there is no need to be spending $1 million to renovate current fields that will only increase maintenance costs or to be funding a trip for the basketball team to play in Puerto Rico.
Twenty-seven sports. One team. Not only has the first part of the Maryland athletic slogan been ruptured due to eight sports being cut, but the second part of the slogan has also taken a hit. These sports were discontinued due to immense financial debt within the athletic department and Maryland is on pace to lose $4.7 million in the current fiscal year. One could easily argue that these eight sports were cut largely because they didn’t bring in enough money; they weren’t valuable enough. But what is value? Should the 19 remaining teams’ chief priority be to raise money for the school? The irony of the situation is that money follows success. Teams that win, bring in more money. But one of the driving factors to success is recruiting. But who wants to come to Maryland when their sport could be the next to go? But we need a solution.
ReplyDeleteIt starts with Maryland’s bread and butter: basketball. Maryland needs a surge in school spirit to overflow to the other Terps sports, namely football, and that spirit is going to be kindled at Comcast Arena. The women’s team is one of the best in the nation, but it’s going to take a national championship run to catch the attention of the campus and community. A very mediocre men’s team needs to pull out upset wins over Duke and a myriad of other ACC teams. Fans don’t need to know that their team is going to win; but they must believe their team has a chance.
Not only is Maryland going to be saved via basketball on the court, but off the court as well. Maryland legendary coach Gary Williams will stay involved in Maryland athletics as a special assistant to Athletic Director Kevin Anderson, serving as an ambassador for the school. University of Maryland announced that Williams raised more that $240 million for scholarships during his coaching tenure. Now primarily focused on fundraising, Williams will be needed more than ever to continue bringing in the bucks.
It’s not going to be a quick fix. Most likely, the athletic department will continue to get heat. But decreasing this debt is fundamental to the rise of the program. Simply put, a department cannot survive while in debt, especially one of $4.7 million.
The University of Maryland was right to pull out its shearing scissors and start trimming teams from the athletic department. Facing millions of dollars of debt in the coming years, Kevin Anderson and Wallace Loh made the tough, but correct decision to shut those teams down.
ReplyDeleteThe department is in dire straits financially and that was the quickest, most efficient thing to improve the situation. It is unfortunate for these players and coaches to get shut out of their livelihoods, but they have to understand that if this sacrifice wasn't made the university that they play their hearts out for would be far worse off and more athletes and employees could be adversely affected.
With these teams getting cut, the department is moving in the right direction to get out of this hole. For those of you that say if those eight non-revenue olympic sports are being cut, then the football team should be too, I say nonsense. All of the sudden swimming and diving and track fans have popped up and are always ready to slam the football team for its poor results. What all of these people are forgetting is the category that their precious water polo team falls under, non-revenue.
In fact, it's a miracle that more teams weren't cut. If things don't improve three to four years down the line, it's a position I would advocate. While it's a bummer to do, it's an effective financial strategy in working toward balancing the budget.
The football team was a tire fire this year, but they're guaranteed to be less of a burden on the athletic department than men's cross country. If the football team strings together some wins, then they turn into the force that funds the rest of the department. That being said, those that advocate the best thing going forward for the department is to cut football need to shut their mouths.
Instead of whipping the football team up and down Byrd Field, lets think of how we can use it as a tool to make sure no more student athletes are told they can't play sports at this university anymore.
The athletic department should go into a full-court press with trying to reinvigorate Maryland fans and their university pride. Too many Maryland fans have been long apathetic toward athletics, predating this year's football team as well at the 2009 team. The department needs alumni and fans donating now more than ever, so anything to get them back into the fold and get them excited about Maryland athletics going forward is essential.
Also, there needs to be a greater deal of transparency with the athletic department to bring donators and fans back back onboard. The fact that the department has been in financial trouble for years now and only now is it being dealt with is a joke. Debbie Yow clearly knew this was going on and chose to keep it quiet and let it be.
The numbers of the department need to be out in the open for all to see. If they're not then people might have reservations on the state of the athletics department and whether its improving.
Trying to rope fans back in to supporting the football team as a revenue raiser is key. The department needs to appeal to that sense of Maryland Pride that was running ramped for about a week during the football season. That needs to be brought back and sustained if the department ever wants to make it back to the black. Generating excitement and opening up to some transparency could be the way to do it.