UMD has won national championships in men's and women's lacrosse and field hockey during Loh's tenureGETTY IMAGES
The Univ. System of Maryland Board of Regents during UMD President Wallace Loh's eight-year tenure has "generally supported him as he sought to build" the school's academic and research prowess, but his handling of the Jordan McNair crisis and other athletic management issues "led his bosses to a change of heart," according to Nick Anderson of the WASHINGTON POST. Sources said that there is "widespread support" among the BOR for a "leadership transition" at UMD. But on campus, "views are split." By most accounts, UMD's reputation has "prospered" under Loh's stewardship. The school has "won national championships in men's and women's lacrosse and field hockey during Loh's tenure, and conference championships in women's basketball, men's soccer and wrestling." But athletic controversies have been a "repeated theme." To put athletics on "firmer financial footing," Loh in '12 "announced a deal to move to the Big Ten." Renaming what was "once known as Byrd Stadium also strained Loh's relationships with some regents." Then came the McNair scandal, which "generated a host of questions about the football team and Maryland's athletic management" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/15).
UNDER REVIEW: In Baltimore, Jeff Barker cites sources as saying that former UMD football coach D.J. Durkin "continued to communicate with assistant coaches and develop game plans for the team after being placed on administrative leave amid media reports alleging abusive treatment of players." Whether UMD officials "approved Durkin's involvement while on leave is in dispute." Sources said that Durkin told the BOR his activity "was approved" by AD Damon Evans. Durkin also told a task force that he was "responding to requests for advice from the assistants and that the university had not limited such contact." However, a UMD spokesperson in a statement yesterday said that Durkin "'was not to perform coaching duties while on administrative leave' and that neither Evans nor Loh had granted permission for him to do so" (BALTIMORE SUN, 11/15).
