November 20, 2012

DIVERSIONS

ACCEPTING CHANGE

Terps coaches prepare for new rivalries in Big Ten p. 8

OPINION

Rihanna’s latest album is fun but anonymous p. 6

Switching conferences is unpopular, but necessary p. 4

The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper

ISSUE NO. 57

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103rd Year of Publication

diamondbackonline.com

TOMORROW 50S / Partly Cloudy

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2012

BIGTEN move official

University will become conference’s 13th member in 2014; Loh says move is to ensure “financial health” of athletics

By Laura Blasey Staff writer The university is leaving the ACC for the Big Ten in 2014, university President Wallace Loh announced yesterday.

After about two weeks of discussions between this university and Big Ten officials, Loh said he, along with Athletic Director Kevin Anderson, Uni-

versity System of Maryland Chancellor Brit Kirwan and other administrators, decided it would be the best move economically and academically for the university. Rutgers is expected to announce today it will join the conference, according to ESPN. “This will guarantee the financial stability and health of Maryland athletics for decades to come, and I’ve got the

numbers to back it,” Loh told The Diamondback. “We’re living paycheck to paycheck, but we’re doing okay. But let’s say attendance goes down or our fundraising is not as good. In three or four years, I may have to cut teams again.”

Although the ACC raised its exit fee from $20 million to $50 million in September — a move Loh voted against because of “philosophical and legal

Commissioner Jim Delany held a news conference yesterday in Stamp Student Union to announce the decision and explain the move. While university administrators said the financial stability associated with joining the Big Ten was one of the most critical factors in the decision, they also pointed to the academic

reasons” — Loh said officials are confident they can negotiate a lower rate, but did not specify by how much.

“We will sit down and have private conversations with the ACC about the exit fee and whatever the eventual exit fee is, my statement still stands. We will be ensuring the financial health of athletics,” Loh said.

Loh, Kirwan, Anderson and Big Ten

See conference, Page 2

University sports have been forgotten for the sake of steady money

Looking just at finances, the move to the Big Ten is the best decision

JOSH VITALE

YASMEEN ABUTALEB

Wallace Loh did not mince words when he took the microphone in Stamp Student Union’s Atrium yesterday afternoon. The university president didn’t beat around the bush, and he didn’t make any attempts to hide what this university’s move from the ACC to the Big Ten conference was all about.

The reason this university is joining the Big Ten is money. And it’s definitely not about sports.

Loh’s comments said as much yesterday. Some of his first words were, “By being members of the Big Ten conference, we will be able to ensure the financial stability of Maryland athletics for decades.”

Financial stability. Not a boon to athletic success, fan support or ticket sales. Stability.

Joining the Big Ten isn’t about watching Terrapins athletics thrive, or even about continuing down the path they’re already on. It’s simply about keeping the athletic department afloat.

The Big Ten is a revenue-sharing conference, so each league member receives the same share of earnings See vitale, Page 3

BY THE NUMBERS

196

Number of ACC titles Terps have won in conference’s history

$17 mil $32 mil Revenue each ACC school makes with ESPN contract

Money university is projected to make after joining Big Ten

The long-standing rivalries, the tradition, the history behind the university’s membership in the ACC — all of these will be just a memory soon. It’s been a great 59 years, but the Terps are moving on to (literally) bigger things now.

To the shock, dismay and even disgust of many, this university is joining the Big Ten beginning July 1, 2014. It’s a change that’ll certainly alter the university’s sports history, but one necessary for its long-term financial health.

Rather than facing Duke, North Carolina and Virginia every year, we’ll be matched against the likes of Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State.

Fans likely won’t flock to see the football team be completely outplayed by schools with powerhouse teams, and basketball won’t face the same tradition-rich level of competition.

We’ll be throwing away decades of history, some say. The university was one of the ACC’s founding members, and we shouldn’t sell out for a money grab. It makes no sense geographically and we’ll be See abutaleb, Page 3

former coaches, athletes weigh in on decision DARRYL HILL

Dave Cottle

First Black ACC Football Player “Certainly from my perspective of being an ACC groundbreaker, I probably would’ve preferred Maryland remaining in the ACC so those traditions and remembrances would stay intact. But I guess that had to end.”

LEFTY DRIESELL

Former Men’s Lacrosse Coach

Former Men’s Basketball Coach

“The bottom line is, it seems to be athletics and big business, which it is. What price can you put on those relationships and rivalries that you’ve established over the 60 years? That will be the question.”

“What is the matter? Why are they so broke? … College athletics is for the students. Not for the alumni, not for the big donors — that’s the way I look at it. There’s some way they should make it work.”

illustration by charlie deboyace/the diamondback

INDEX

NEWS 2 OPINION 4 FEATURES 5 DIVERSIONS 6 CLASSIFIED 6 SPORTS 8

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© 2012 THE DIAMONDBACK

2

THE DIAMONDBACK | NEWS | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Terps sound off Former and current athletes tweet their views on the university’s move to the Big Ten Torrey Smith | former football wr | @TorreySmithWR

Athletic Director Kevin Anderson (left) and university President Wallace Loh (bottom, right) speak at a news conference yesterday announcing the university’s entrance into the Big Ten conference. Terrapins men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon and football coach Randy Edsall (top right) talk before the event begins. charlie deboyace/the diamondback

MD can go to the BIG10 and make more money but none of it matters if the football team doesn’t win...Byrd will remain empty

conference From PAGE 1

Taylor Kemp | men’s soccer defender | @Tkemp02 Moving to the big 10? I came to maryland to play in the ACC, there goes a lot of tradition and pride #ACCforlife

Sander Beck | former baseball pitcher | @sbeck30 Can’t let emotional barriers make you afraid of change, especially change you can’t control.

Kristi Toliver | former women’s basketball guard | @KristiToliver Sad day to be a terp. Really? The big 10? That’s like exchanging your Bentley for a Buick.

Lydia Hastings|former women’s soccer defender | @LydiaHastings Disappointed in so many things today!! #big10move #ACCforlife

Greivis Vasquez |former men’s basketball guard |@greivisvasquez ACC basketball is the best level!!

Joe Cummings | former men’s lacrosse attackman | @jcummings19 In the spirit of thanksgiving, I’m thankful for four years I played in ACC, hope future Terps can say same about Big10 #saddaytobeaterp

Katie Gerzabek | field hockey forward | @kegstandUP over everything we are maryland, no matter what conference we are in. playing in the acc was awesome, but change is opportunity.

Follow @thedbk on Twitter for alerts, breaking news, updates & more. illustration by caroline amenabar/the diamondback

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benefits of joining. The conference is revenue sharing, meaning the university will receive an equal share of the money generated each year.

Big Ten schools, along with the University of Chicago, make up the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, which is a collaborative relationship between all member schools that offers each university access to common data, libraries and study abroad programs.

The schools can also order supplies, such as computers, in bulk for discounted prices. Loh said he may not have wanted to join the conference if it weren’t for the consortium.

“I have a responsibility to the entire university,” he said at the news conference. “It’s not just about the sports fans.”

“I support the move largely because of what it means to the institution academically,” Kirwan said. “Having been a president in the Big Ten [at Ohio State], I know it is not just athletics, it is an alliance.”

T he Big Ten is expected to give each member school $24 million by the end of the fiscal year. ACC schools will receive about $17 million a year through 2027 from the conference’s contract with ESPN, plus an addition of at least $1 million more per school because of Notre Dame’s recent move.

The Big Ten, however, has its own cable channel — the Big Ten Network — which has grown into a global brand.

With the economic benefits the university will reap from the

move, Loh and Anderson said they will be able to bring back some of the seven teams that were cut in July.

“When we came in two years ago, Kevin Anderson and I were faced unexpectedly with budget deficits,” Loh said. “I want to leave a legacy where no president will have to wonder whether Maryland athletics will survive.”

“We have done so much with so little for so long — now imagine what our teams can accomplish with the financial stability we can give them,” Anderson said. “No future athletic director will have to look into a young man or young woman’s eyes and say that you can’t compete here anymore, you can’t wear these colors anymore.”

The university will also earmark some of the additional revenue for academic resources, scholarship opportunities and improved student-athlete resources, Loh said.

The official announcement was not unexpected. Loh negotiated with Big Ten officials for about two weeks before rumors began to spread online over the weekend. The Board of Regents “overwhelmingly” voted to support the move, Kirwan said.

Upset students took to social media, flooding the “Maryland Terrapins” Facebook page to voice their discontent.

Many at the conference asked why they were left in dark about the negotiations, but Kirwan said the Board of Regents was in full compliance with the attorney general’s policies.

Because fans are so emotionally tied to their teams and schools, Delany said, opening the move up to public discus-

sion would cause more harm than good, as he said he experienced when the Big Ten announced three years ago it planned to bring in another school, wh ich wou nd up being Nebraska.

“It was beautifully transparent and beautifully dysfunctional,” he said.

Anderson said officials are nervously anticipating fewer donations, but he believes donors will continue to contribute after the initial shock of the move wears off. Anderson pointed to conversations with Under Armour founder a nd u n iversity a lu m nu s Kevin Plank, one of the university’s most prominent donors, who has embraced the move.

Loh and Anderson said it was an emotional and difficult decision to make. “[Meeting with the coaches], at first it was like going through the process of grieving,” Anderson said, adding they are all in agreement the ACC exit is a means of moving forward.

The Student Government Association has also endorsed the move, writing in an open letter to the Board of Regents, “Although we mourn the traditions that would inevitably be lost, joining the Big Ten would fundamentally transform our university for the better.”

This university was one of the ACC’s seven founding schools, teaming up with Duke University, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, the University of South Carolina, Wake Forest University and Clemson University in 1953.

Previously, this university helped found the Southern Conference in 1921 .

“I understand that many devoted Terp fans may be stunned and disappointed at this news,” Loh wrote in a letter to the university community.

“To them, I ask only this: please understand that I am doing what I believe is best for the University of Maryland and all of its stakeholders — students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and sports fans.”

The move to accept Maryland as the Big Ten’s 13th member is symbolic for the conference as well, as it seeks to expand and grow to include more of t he E a s t Coa s t.

Delany, however, would not comment on further expansion and said, “This is Maryland’s day.”

“When I think about the kind of institutions I think it’s important for us to play against, I view Maryland as an outstanding partner,” said University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman.

Adding another school — or possibly two, depending on Rutgers’ announcement — also impacts Big Ten fans.

They, like Terps fans, harbor some discontent, Delany said in a teleconference following the news conference.

“I think it’s very natural for people to reject and push change away,” he said. “But making decisions like this, you weigh the risks with the rewards. … I’m very comfortable with where we are and over the long term, we’ll see tremendous benefits from this.” newsumdbk@gmail.com

3

tuesDAY, november 20, 2012 | NEWS | THE DIAMONDBACK

Students, alums wary of Big Ten move the Big Ten conference in 2014, Loh announced yesterday. The move does not come without A few dozen students paced its costs — the ACC’s exit fee around Stamp Student Union is a steep $50 million, and the yesterday afternoon, peering into university will likely pay a high the windows of a news confer- amount whether the Big Ten helps ence they’d heard about only a shoulder the cost or the univerfew hours earlier — one laptop sity negotiates a lower fee, both of streamed the event just feet which are reported possibilities. from where university President In a few years’ time, the athletic Wallace Loh, and coaches Randy department will receive an equal Edsall and Mark Turgeon stood. share of the conference’s annual The students wanted to know revenue — which totals about $24 the same thing — why they’d been million per school this fiscal year.

But students are lamenting the blindsided in losing their rivalries, traditions and identities as losses they’ll feel far before the university reaps the benefits of members of an ACC school.

“Yes, this makes more sense Big Ten membership.

“Can you imagine not having fi nancially, but at least consult us,” said Drew Needham, a the Duke game every year? It’s a senior biology major. “Don’t huge draw,” said Noah Niedergo sneaking around behind hoffer, a junior Jewish studies and journalism major. “Yeah, it’s a our backs.”

This university, a founding great long-term solution because member of the ACC, will join it’s a wealthier conference. But we

By Bradleigh Chance Staff writer

abutaleb From PAGE 1 left without a real rival.

Put all that aside. For now, we’re going to focus on one thing, the aspect that has driven every conference realignment thus far and will continue to reign as the final factor in all decisions: money.

Moving to the Big Ten is all about securing the athletic department’s — and the entire university’s — financial future. Its instability has made national headlines over the last year, and the university had to cut seven teams just to stay afloat — not even to turn a profit within a year or two.

Financially speaking only, this is a brilliant move. The Big Ten is a revenue-sharing conference, meaning each of its members receives an equal amount of the money generated. When it comes down to it, officials were driven

by the allure of knowing that no matter what — whether the football team is selling out Byrd Stadium (but really, when has that happened recently?) or can barely fill a quarter of the seats — there will always be a steady stream of money coming in.

Ticket sales for many ACC schools are slumping, and the Big Ten isn’t only reliant on selling tickets — it has its own cable network, called the Big Ten Network, with millions of subscribers worldwide. The network is responsible for a large share of the conference’s lucrative revenue stream.

And that’s where the Big Ten is way ahead of the game — students across the country just aren’t rushing to games like they used to. The conference adjusted and has already built a digital brand to keep fans engaged.

This fiscal year, the Big Ten’s members — except Nebraska, which just joined last year — will

have a tradition and history with the teams in the ACC.” With the athletic department’s tumultuous finances, including eliminating seven teams this summer to create a more sustainable funding model, many former Terps athletes have been watching the school closely. When Renaldo Nehemiah, a holder of three NCAA track and field titles with this university, heard the news, his first thought was, “Say it ain’t so.”

“We were proudly part of the ACC,” said Nehemiah, a world record-setting hurdler and former NFL player. “There was nail-biting experiences and highs and lows and the drama and the familiar faces of the coaches and players. Now we have to learn a whole new mentality.”

The university is sacrificing those traditions, built over more than 50 years, for financial stabil-

each receive about $24 million simply for being a member of the conference. And when the university officially joins, it’ll be privy to that revenue whether its own ticket sales increase or not. That doesn’t compare to the money it makes from being in the ACC. Each ACC school receives $17.4 million each year from the 15year, $3.6 billion contract with ESPN. The university will make nearly 30 percent more by being in the Big Ten, and will make nearly $100 million more by 2020, according to information obtained

by Sports Illustrated.

Though the exit fee for the ACC is $50 million, several sources say it’s unlikely the university will pay that high an amount. Even if it does, the money the university will make from the Big Ten will help ease the burden, and the conference has reportedly offered to help with the fee.

Look at all that from the view-

ity, said Jared Stein, a sophomore enrolled in letters and sciences.

“We’re leaving a conference that we helped start,” he said.

The delivery of the news was most frustrating, many said.

“Someone leaked something to ESPN, then out of nowhere there’s this press conference that students can’t even get into,” Stein said. “I’m not blaming, though. It would be impractical for this to be an open process.”

Administrators knew how to handle and prepare for the response to their decision, said Ryan Largent, a senior government and politics major.

“This was executed politically — they pushed it to the weekend with no print days so that when they announce it on Monday no one can protest it,” Largent said. “They knew it was going to be controversial.”

point of an athletic department that has been hemorrhaging money for the last several years and was faced with a crippling $4.7 million deficit last fiscal year if it didn’t drastically change something. Sure, things have been looking better this year, but it’s not like the department’s exactly thriving — university President Wallace Loh said it’s still “living paycheck to paycheck.” There’s still a long way to go, and a large part of the department’s success has hinged on ticket sales. Neither Byrd nor Comcast has seen anywhere close to the crowd it needs to truly help the department recover.

It’d be nice to see our stadiums filling up and the university paying for its own athletic department, but given the way the last several years have gone, that’s too risky of a move. The university is ranked last in support per student-athlete among the ACC’s schools, according to last year’s report on the athletic depart-

But from a financial standpoint, some students argued, the decision has its merits.

“Maybe I’m biased because I came from the Big Ten,” said Julia Madden, a sophomore economics major. “We’re putting all of our eggs in one basket, but it’s a basket of money.”

And for sports that faced the chopping block last year, the prospect of more money means a possible comeback, Nehemiah said.

“I’m sure the viability of bringing some of the other programs they were leaving has to do with ... the funding mechanism the Big Ten provides,” he said.

However, the ACC remains the place for competition for many of the smaller athletic programs at this university, said former Terps lacrosse player Brian Dougherty. The Big Ten does not sponsor lacrosse, consistently one of the university’s strongest programs.

“I’ve always liked the fact that it was an ACC school, but

ment’s budget. Now, we have the opportunity to bring back teams that were cut, better support each team that’s here and hopefully compete at a higher level.

And that’s not mentioning the academic benefits. The Big Ten has an academic consortium called the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, which is essentially a huge collaboration between all of the universities.

Being a member of the consortium will mean unmatched research

vitale From PAGE 1

at the same time, with all this realignment going on, I couldn’t even tell you who was in the ACC anymore,” said Dougherty, a 2008 inductee to the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

“It’s not the same as it was. …

Lacrosse would definitely be on the back burner. I’d hope they’d go in there with an idea that they’d add programs in the Big Ten, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

While nothing will change until 2014, several students said they already feel less a part of the ACC. “Next year, our games will sell out because everyone will want to see these rivalries before they’re gone,” said Abby Bjork, a junior English major. “We’ve been playing these teams for 60 years and next year is our last chance to catch them.”

Senior staff writer Rebecca Lurye contributed to this report. newsumdbk@gmail.com

and academic opportunities.

You certainly can’t put a price on tradition and the university’s identity for the last 59 years. But, unfortunately, you can put a price on financial stability — to the tune of $24 million or more a year — and for an athletic department that’s been starved of funds, that’s too sweet of an offer to walk away from, no matter how unpopular it may be. newsumdbk@gmail.com

a conference already boasting the Tar Heels, Blue Devils and Cavaliers, the ACC had a chance to feature six of the nation’s 10 best teams year after year.

But in switching leagues, the Terps go from playing in the most competitive conference to playing in a conference that doesn’t even exist yet. The Big Ten lacrosse league is still more an idea than a reality, and Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and likely Rutgers are its only members that currently feature Division I-level lacrosse.

But the level of competition isn’t the Terps’ biggest problem in their transition. No, the biggest problem is going to come from the students, alumni and fans whom the university is still going to count on to support its programs.

T he Ter ps a re fou nd i ng members of the ACC and have been in the conference for 59 years, and the traditions they have built aren’t lost on fans, you ng or old. A lu m n i sti l l cherish the longtime rivalry with Virginia, and students still gear up fervently for basketball games against hated Duke.

Will alumni feel the same way about forced geographical rivalries with Penn State and Rutgers?

Will students spend all winter attending blowout nonconference wins just to get basketball tickets for the big Purdue game?

Both seem unlikely.

That’s not Loh’s concern, though. It doesn’t matter if there are more opponent fans than Terps fans in Byrd Stadium or Comcast Center; the money the school brings in is going to end up being the same no matter who’s there to watch the games.

And yes, that money will help the athletic department. It will allow it to increase its recruiting budget, better its facilities and improve the lives of its studentathletes. It might even let it reinstate some of the seven teams it cut last year.

But at what cost? The guaranteed revenue stream is great, but is it worth alienating an entire fan base and alumni network while simultaneously making many Terps sports teams take a competitive step down?

In the long run, it probably is.

And maybe the move will help the university morph into the athletic and academic power Loh hopes it will become.

But with all its traditions already dead, the fans who have stuck by this university for so long might not stick around to see Loh’s vision become reality.

each fiscal year. So when the Terps join in 2014, it won’t matter if they sell 54 football tickets or 54,000. They’re going to get the same share as heavyweights Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, no matter what.

With the potential of so much profit, the fact that nearly every Terps team — at least any of the ones fans truly care about — is downgrading to a conference significantly worse in its sport probably wasn’t even considered.

Sure, you could argue football is getting an upgrade. The ACC has long been considered one of the worst BCS conferences in the sport, and the Big Ten is thought to be among the best.

The Buckeyes, Wolverines and Nittany Lions, along with programs such as Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin, do make up one of the country’s most powerpacked football leagues.

But coach Randy Edsall’s Terps have struggled to compete against the likes of Boston College and Wake Forest — ACC bottom-feeders — and the team is just 33-46 in conference play over the past 10 seasons. If that’s its track record in a normally weak ACC, how do you think it will fare in the bigger and badder Big Ten? Probably not well.

Football is the sport most likely to see a boost, yet “probably not well” seems like it’s the best it can do. It’s going to be even worse for the rest of the university’s sports teams.

Men’s basketball goes from a conference that was quickly turning into the SEC of college basketball to a conference that’s, well, boring. Gone are high-octane local rivalries against Duke, North Carolina and Virginia,and here are plodding matchups with Minnesota, Illinois and, (if the rumors turn out to be true) perhaps worst of all, fellow new Big Ten member Rutgers.

The situation is just as dire for the school’s nonrevenue sports.

The women’s basketball team will suffer the same fate as its male counterpart, and the men’s soccer, women’s soccer and field hockey teams will go from elite teams in the nation’s best conference to elite teams in a middling athletic league.

And nobody has it worse than the Terps’ men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. The ACC has been the epicenter of college lacrosse for years, and with new additions Syracuse and Notre Dame joining sportsdbk@gmail.com

4

Opinion

THE DIAMONDBACK | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20 , 2012

EDITORIAL BOARD

YASMEEN ABUTALEB Editor in Chief

If you’re like me, you can count on a few things this Thanksgiving break: sleep, football, beer, food, brief reconnections with high school friends and at least one awkward exchange with an uncle who barely remembers your name and asks you what you’re studying or what you’re planning to do for the fifth year in a row. If you’re even more like me, you won’t have the balls to answer that question honestly. Because that answer is a resounding “nothing.”

We don’t want to admit it, but most of us are on a road to nowhere. Well, not nowhere necessarily, but not forward. It’s not progress.

Why? Why do all high schools, hometowns and ex-girlfriends on Earth have more gravitational pull than the Earth itself? What makes us keep coming back?

It’s inertia — our unwillingness to change.

When it’s hard enough to get the ball rolling, changing the direction of the ball itself is an entirely different animal. Inertia is basically paralysis masquerading as stasis; it’s market failure wearing the veil of equilibrium; it’s unhappiness disguised as contentment. It’s the reason why those of us with opinions and aspirations are so stubborn and why those of us without either are so apathetic.

Inertia: the precursor to settling, and eventually, regret.

In one of my favorite episodes of Louie, Louie watches an old stand-up set of one of my favorite comedians, Marc Maron. Maron’s set is short but sweet, as all he touches on is Americans’ inability to care enough to stand up for anything. Fighting for democracy and revolutionizing legitimate social change, according to Maron, takes a

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Assistant Opinion Editor

CONTACT US 3150 South Campus Dining Hall | College Park, MD 20742 | newsumdbk@gmail.com OR opinionumdbk@gmail.com PHONE (301) 314-8200

Make something out of nothing with change DREW FARRELL

Mike King

backseat to a night with a Redbox DVD and Ben & Jerry’s.

Ask the male feminist who doesn’t actively do anything to support women’s causes or the comedian who only tells the same jokes or the guy out of love with his girlfriend but too afraid to be alone — they’ll tell you simply having ideas of change isn’t nearly enough if you only revert back to what you’re used to just because it’s easier. Nobody’s ever going to change Baltimore for the better just by watching The Wire. Nobody ever gets a bigger laugh telling a joke for a second time.

And nobody’s ever going to make a relationship work while getting nookie from the wrong girl.

Our desire to fulfill all our wildest hopes and dreams, live up to our families’ expectations as well as our own, justify years of debt and tuition and effort and make sure the world we leave our children is the best possible one, is strong. But it is ultimately halted by our generation’s crippling submission to its own inertia. We waste too many nights in a bar that slowly kills us inside, with people we know we can’t stand, doing things we know are unproductive; or we sit alone in bed with our computers on our laps, warming our nether regions, transfixing us into monotony that leaves us more braindead than extras on The Walking Dead.

So cut the umbilical cord with your bed, bar, boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, parents, school or dead-end job. If you stay in the same place, you’ll never go anywhere. In the ebb and flow of insulation and isolation we call life, when there’s no change on the horizon, all that’s left to do is bet on what happens when an unstoppable force (ambition) meets an immovable object (ourselves).

My money is on “nothing.”

STAFF EDITORIAL

The B1G deal

Yesterday, the university decided to abandon tradition and officially joined the Big Ten, effective July 1, 2014. The rumors were true, and at first whiff, the final decision smells of deception and betrayal.

Yes, it’s never easy to say goodbye, especially since students and alumni of this university likely have fond memories of life in the ACC. For the athletes who competed in the conference and the fans who grew up watching and falling in love with it, the prospect of seemingly crosscountry road trips for football games in Iowa City, Iowa, or men’s soccer games in Lincoln, Neb., is as sacrilegious as it is unfathomable. Most fans at this university probably couldn’t even find Des Moines on a map, let alone view Iowa, Nebraska or any other Big Ten school as a worthy replacement for our rivalry with Duke. In the stages of grief, it’s easy to remain stuck in both denial and anger as our university faces a radical change to its identity.

But the jarring nature of this move speaks less to university officials’ callousness or selfishness than it does to the harsh and simple reality of college sports: You eat what you kill. Yes, university officials disregarded tradition, history, culture and pride all for the sake of television contracts and revenue sharing. Put more simply, the university went for the money.

However unholy and cowardly you view this move, university officials made the right decision. The

athletic department’s debt ballooned to about $83 million before the department was forced to cut seven varsity sports last year; joining the Big Ten will help it remain solvent, if not making it profitable, in the future. As university President Wallace Loh told The Diamondback, “No future president will have to worry about cutting teams or that Maryland athletics will be at risk.”

OUR VIEW

Though it’s understandable for students and alumni to feel disquieted, moving to the Big Ten offers long-term and worthwhile benefits.

If the Big Ten’s projections are correct, that will certainly be the case.

This university was projected to make $20 million in revenue from its membership in the ACC in 2014-15. When it joins the Big Ten, that number will spike to $32 million, according to projections Sports Illustrated obtained.

And when the Big Ten renegotiates its contract in 2017, annual revenue is expected to reach $43 million.

Yes, the ACC has a $50 million exit fee for departing schools, but university officials will likely negotiate a lower cost.

Even if they fail to do so, this university will make nearly $100 million in added conference revenue by 2020 because of this switch, according to the projections.

And the ramifications of this move go beyond revenue sharing and sports. By joining the Big Ten, this university will enter the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, a prestigious consortium of all Big Ten schools, as well as the University of Chicago. Joining the CIC will allow this university’s faculty members and students greater collaboration and access to the resources and programs offered by fellow members. Though moving to the Big Ten was primarily a financial decision, it will clearly help further this university’s rising reputation and status as a top-tier research institution.

The immediate reaction in any monumental decision like this is skepticism and frustration. For those who remain distraught over the move, university officials and the athletic department should do everything in their power to help maintain tradition. At the top of the list would be securing nonconference games against Duke, particularly for men’s basketball.

But in this situation, change was both appropriate and essential. Moving to the Big Ten offers the long soughtafter answer to the athletic department’s financial woes and will ensure this university’s athletic programs have the stability they need going forward.

Nobody knows for sure what the ACC or Big Ten will look like five years from now. What’s for certain is, no matter how discouraged fans may feel today, winning will cure everything. And in college sports, winning always starts with money.

EDITORIAL CARTOON

Drew Farrell is a senior English m a j o r. H e c a n b e re a c h e d a t opinionumdbk@gmail.com.

An anonymous Maryland Compliment JAKE DeVIRGILIIS After a failed attempt to sneak into a swanky party by posing as a dude unloading a supply truck, I was left with a feeling of rejection, reminding me the uncertainty of dealing with others was part of what it is to be human. The strange sensation rather resembles being alive.

I sought refuge online, where I was immediately reminded my own personal happiness is more important than anything else. It was Maryland Compliments, a new Facebook page where you tell other Terps how you feel about them without having to deal with any of that annoying vulnerability or communication stuff — and, by golly, someone had said something nice about little ol’ me. Behind the sweet, sweet veil of anonymity, we can now enjoy the experience of having friends without actually doing anything. I am working on a similar page for anonymously asking people on dates. It eliminates fear of rejection.

(Still working on that possibility-ofacceptance thing.)

What was I thinking, not constantly seeking reinforcement and acceptance? “It is amazing what you can accomplish when you do not care who gets the credit,” Harry Truman once said. Wikipedia claims he was president, but there’s no way to be sure. Apparently some John F. Kennedy character made some claim we shouldn’t pray for easier lives, but rather to be stronger men, which means we might as well forget all about presidential logic.

The truth is often mistaken for cynicism. Or maybe it’s the other way around. All I know is I prefer to take my reality the way it has always been given to me: A just world where even fourth and fifth place get trophies, and I am in no way implicated in violations

of international child labor laws when I shop at H&M. When I sit down at McDonald’s, I don’t care who or what has died, I eat what’s in front of me just because.

Slovenian philosopher and mean person Slavoj Žižek once remarked he doesn’t really want to exist, only to think. Just put me down for smiling.

Apparently there was a man named Theodor Adorno who thought people’s willingness to ignore their troubles by keeping busy with more pleasant endeavors would make them more susceptible to fascism. And anyone who knows me knows this: I would rather be a happy fascist than a sad free person.

I’ve realized something: We can change the world if we just smile hard enough about it. Come on, do it with me now!

A random stranger found it in the kindness of his heart to approve of my existence. A mysterious warmth swelled within me, and I forgot who I was, my sum and my parts and what I might have been as an individual faded into everything around me. I felt a sudden kinship with the bluesmen of America’s past, as if I had transcended their musical message of hope.

It’s not the hope that tomorrow will be better, but the kind that starts by accepting the garbage of today. You left me, but I’m still here, damn it.

I’m broke, but nobody is taking my guitar from me. These atoms didn’t fight through millennia to get here and settle, and there is some beauty in the capacity to feel this sadness and change it. And I don’t care if you like me because I’m ready to suffer to be the person I already am and still want to be.

The blues genre was wrong. Life isn’t about any of those things. Life should be one big hug.

Jake DeVirgiliis is a senior government and politics major. He can be reached at opinionumdbk@gmail.com.

JAKE STEINER/the diamondback

The need for physical education NEAL FREYMAN I’m sitting as I write this, but you’re not surprised. I tend to sit a whole lot, and I bet you do, too. In fact, you and I spend most of our existence with our butts in chairs, or plush sofas if we are so fortunate.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Sitting is quite preferred to standing — or squatting, for that matter — but we should realize the sedentary lives we lead in the 21st century are pretty recent developments in the history of human evolution.

Our Neanderthal and early-human ancestors spent most of their waking moments hunting deer or gathering berries so they could have something to eat for dinner. We take out our laptops, make a few swift movements with our fingers and order the newest deals from Papa John’s, complaining mightily when we have to go outside to pick it up. Even our parents, growing up less than 50 years ago, had to move their bodies to rent a movie, buy a book or send a note, achievements that can be done now with virtually zero bodily exertion.

College students are particularly

susceptible to prolonged periods of inactivity. Our unhealthy lifestyles of attempted studying, eating fast and cheap food and consuming disturbing quantities of alcoholic beverages, while immensely enjoyable and fulfilling to the soul, are quite unpopular with the body. Of course, many people — college students included — take care of their health and work out on a daily basis. If you count yourself among them, you don’t need to read this; I think you’re late for Zumba, anyway. The sad truth is most of us just don’t prioritize exercising, are much less disciplined in doing so or are afraid to be the only male participant in Zumba. It’s not because we’re bad people, but it’s more difficult to be physically active in college.

In high school, I played on sports teams throughout the year, and though I was a lumbering and slow athlete, I was still out there — kicking a soccer ball or chasing down a drop shot — on a daily basis. Unjustly passed over for a basketball scholarship (Coach Mark Turgeon explained the team was all set with 5-foot-8 power forwards.) I have found intramural sports a pleasant, if unsatisfying, alternative.

As a remedy to stir college students out of our perpetual slumber, I propose that, in addition to the general edu-

cation requirements in place, an undergraduate student at this university should be mandated to take a physical education course as well. This type of thing has a historical precedent: Upon entering Penn State in the early ’70s, both of my parents were forced to run a mile in less than seven minutes. Failure to accomplish the goal resulted in an activity course with an unsavory instructor. (Seriously. My mother’s instructor in racquetball class was none other than Jerry Sandusky.) Gym classes are fun, effective and should certainly not be limited to seniors and kinesiology majors. Students should be encouraged to take tennis, golf, swimming or karate because they’re healthy activities, and we’ll get that much-needed exercise when it’s built into our daily schedule.

I’ll even go to Zumba if it means I can get an “A”.

A general education curriculum is designed to give students a basic, wellrounded education in a variety of subjects, and just like in every American high school, or Penn State in the ’70s, physical education should be included here at this university so we don’t become too … err … well-rounded.

Neal Freyman is a senior history m a j o r. H e c a n b e re a c h e d a t opinionumdbk@gmail.com.

AIR YOUR VIEWS Address your letters or guest columns to Maria Romas and Nadav Karasov at opinionumdbk@gmail.com. All submissions must be signed.

Include your full name, year, major and phone number. Please limit letters to 300 words and guest columns to between 500 and 600 words.

POLICY: Signed letters, columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the authors. The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Diamondback’s editorial board and is the responsibility of the editor in chief.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2012 | THE DIAMONDBACK

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Features

CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Curtain trim 7 Interest amt.

10 Not defy 14 Mechanic’s concern 15 Zoologists’ mouths 16 “-- Ha’i” 17 Eye surface 18 Cold mo.

19 Word in a telegram 20 Optical instrument 23 Gourmet delicacy 26 Two of a kind 27 Ditties 28 Show up 29 Outer edge 30 Teeth-chattering sound 31 PFC mail drop 32 Understood 33 Flavor coffee 37 Resinous deposit 38 Lime cooler 39 Orders for dinner 40 Bikini half 41 Trudged along 43 Hosp. workers 44 Fay’s role in “King Kong” 45 Narcissus’ flaw 46 Moo companion 47 Small brown bird 48 Plenty 51 Kyoto cash

52 Smart-alecky 53 Hotel amenity (2 wds.)

56 Livy’s “it was” 57 Feel grateful 58 Subcontractor 62 Ceremony 63 Tolerate 64 Not plain 65 Steel- -- boots 66 RB gains 67 Raised a brood

33 34 35 36 42

Minimized Ski lifts (hyph.)

Ocean birds Au pair Cleaned the cache

46 Tams 47 Horse-pulled vehicles 48 Sidestep 49 Writer -- Puzo

DOWN 1 Muscle used in push-ups 2 The Plastic -- Band 3 Ball club VIP 4 Little finger 5 NBA’s Shaquille 6 Ground corn 7 Speaker’s platform 8 Ism 9 Tex-Mex snack 10 Little known 11 Conductor’s need 12 Split to join 13 Cry of surprise 21 Blue-penciled 22 Rat-race result 23 Sell hot tickets 24 Prickly pear 25 BP acquisition 29 Cheyenne meet 30 Safari boss 32 Gizmo

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B

HOROSCOPE STELLA WILDER

orn today, you are an imaginative individual with a tremendously positive outlook and the will to achieve almost anything that you can think up. Indeed, you have been known to do the impossible simply because you have refused to accept failure as an option! Like so many creative individuals, you have something of a fiery temper, which you must always work hard to control -- especially when you are in situations that bring you in contact with strangers. You never know who may be in a position to do you a good turn at some point in the future. Rant and rave at the wrong person, however, and you may never get what you want or need.

You are eager to be noticed, but once you are in the spotlight you can quickly feel rather sheepish and self-conscious. This will prove something of a dilemma throughout most of your life: You will crave attention, and yet you will not always like it when you get it.

Also born on this date are: Bo Derek, actress; Veronica Hamel, actress; Joe Biden, U.S. senator and vice president; Dick Smothers, comedian; Richard Dawson, actor and game show host; Estelle Parsons, actress.

To see what is in store for you tomorrow, find your birthday and read the corresponding paragraph. Let your birthday star be your daily guide.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21 SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -What you usually feel in a certain situation today may not mean what you have come to expect it to mean. Some investigation is warranted.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- You may have to go back over what you have done to make sure that you have followed all the rules and left nothing to chance.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- You may pay quite a high price for inattention; be sure you know who is talking, what it’s about and what it means!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- You can tend to otherwise routine endeavors with renewed creativity and enthusiasm. You have someone to impress!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Take care you don’t lash out at someone else simply because you are angry at yourself. Self-awareness is the key to harmony.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- You may not see things adding up the way others do today, and you’ll want to be sure that you’re not being deceived in any way.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -You won’t have to work very hard to assemble a crack team; there are many who want to work with you, for you and by your side.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- A friend may call on you for advice and assistance because he or she thinks you have some firsthand knowledge -- and so you do!

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -Now is no time to hide from the obvious. You’ll want to face certain key facts head-on in order to avoid any mishaps in the future.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- You may find that you have more time available to you today than originally expected -- and you can use it very much to your advantage.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- You’ll have more authority than you are used to, but you’ll know how to wield it well simply because you are comfortable in this arena.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -Someone much younger than you will be looking to you for counsel -- and you must be willing to give it. He or she is at a crossroads.

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THE DIAMONDBACK | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Diversions

BOOKWORM’S BANE

ON THE BLOG

Do film adaptations of books need to remain dutifully accurate to the source material?

Warren Zhang and Emily Thompson debate the issue. For more, visit diamondbackonline.com.

REVIEW | UNAPOLOGETIC

no apologies, no identity

Rihanna’s latest album, Unapologetic, offers plenty of pop fun, but it frustratingly fails to follow through on its hints at deeper personal examination

By Eric Bricker Staff writer When Taylor Swift’s Red was released about a month ago, it was met with just as much psychoanalysis as criticism. Critics debated over the quality of the songs, yes, but fans and reviewers alike spent just as much time pouring over Swift’s personal life as her music. Was “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” about Jake Gyllenhaal? Were the album’s experiments in electronica a sign of Swift’s increasing maturity?

Rihanna’s newest album, Unapologetic, is sure to receive the same kind of in-depth scrutiny from pop-culture pundits, much like her complicated, headline-grabbing relationship with R&B superstar Chris Brown. For those out of the loop, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault charges after beating thengirlfriend Rihanna in 2009. The pair split soon after, but have since been rumored to be back together.

What’s interesting is how little Rihanna’s tabloid-ready personal life is reflected in her music. As much as she has appeared in print over the past few years, Rihanna’s music has always been hard to pin down. She is a musical chameleon, a go-to guest vocalist and a producer’s dream. Her throaty, slightly accented alto lends gravitas to emotional ballads (see: Drake’s “Take Care,” Eminem’s inescapable “Love the Way You Lie”) and a sultry edge to club bangers such as David Guetta’s “Who’s That Chick?”

For all of Swift’s lyrical ambiguity, Red is unmistakably Swiftian: earnest, country-tinged pop delivered with unflagging energy.

She has a point of view, a style. The

same can’t really be said of Rihanna.

Though Unapologetic’s title and marketing rely heavily on the pop star’s troubled public persona, the music itself remains frustratingly anonymous, as Rihanna flits between styles and current pop trends without ever really latching onto one and making it her own.

Like the rest of Rihanna’s catalogue, this eclecticism makes for a highly listenable album but one that lacks personality or uniqueness.

Unapologetic seemingly promises a deeper look into the troubles and inner workings of one of pop’s biggest artists, but ultimately amounts to nothing more or less than a crash course in Top-40 pop.

Take the already controversial “Nobody’s Business,” a duet between Rihanna and Brown. Though the lyrics seem to reflect the singers’ fraught relationship with the media (“Sing it to the world/ You’ll always be my boy, I’ll always be your girl,” Rihanna chants; “I want to be your baby/ You’ll always be my baby,” Brown replies), the song is slight, disco-coated sleaze, little more than a chance for both to do their best Michael Jackson impressions.

The stylistic leaps don’t stop there.

Opener “Phresh Out the Runway”

is aggressive hip-hop, while “Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary” couples Frank Ocean soul with the guitar riff from The Police’s “Message In A Bottle.”

Elsewhere, “Jump” (a fantastic ode to doing it) and “Right Now” (featuring the ubiquitous Guetta) prov ide the requisite dubstep and EDM bangers;

lead single “Diamonds” is the kind of uplifting anthem Rihanna can do in her sleep, this time done to sound like an M83 or Chromatics cast-off.

It’s when the glossy, all-over-themap production is scaled back that Unapologetic lives up to its poten-

tial. “Stay” is nothing more than piano, some bluesy guitar noodling and Rihanna’s powerful vocals.

It’s emotionally raw and intimate, confessional (“Funny you’re the broken one, but I’m the only one who needed saving.”) and quietly epic. It’s Beyonce without the melodrama or Mariah Carey without the vocal histrionics.

And on an album bursting with slickly produced pop singles, it’s honest and authentic — the only track you can point to and say, “That’s Rihanna.” diversionsdbk@gmail.com

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&

John Maher

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2EVEN TUESDAY, NOVEMBer 20, 2012 | SPORTS | THE DIAMONDBACK

THE DIAMONDBACK THE DIAMONDBACK | XXXDAY, | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER AUGUST XX, 31, 20127

COACHES

RECRUITS From PAGE 8

From PAGE 8

The Wolverines and Buckeyes play in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, and the Nittany Lions spent last season in the Colonial Athletic Association.

While men’s lacrosse coach John Tillman called himself a “traditionalist” who likes to keep things the same, he said he sees the need for the conference change. But that hardly affects his day-to-day approach.

“We got two years, and right now we have those two years to look forward to,” Tillman said. “Honestly, no one knows in two years what exactly is going to happen.”

One thing seems sure right now, though — the Terps will have an influx of cash. The new revenue generated as a member of the Big Ten could allow Terps baseball coaches to eventually move their offices out of the trailer next to the Varsity Team House. The men’s and women’s soccer teams could upgrade from the locker-room trailers next to Ludwig Field.

The Big Ten Network has been a boost for the lower-profi le Olympic sports in the conference, because the network provides exposure to a national audience for sports such as field hockey.

“When I look at the opportunity to compete with the Big Ten,” Terps field hockey coach Missy Meharg said, “I look at it as an opportunity to showcase the women in a global television market, which to me is really exciting.”

The Terps baseball team is a prime example of a team in dire need of the additional revenue. Many of the upgrades

they can recruit on the national level. Their staffs have strong ties to nearly every corner of the country, and will be able to weather the potential setbacks inherent in the conference switch.

Edsall, however, will likely need to establish more of a recruiting presence in the Midwest — a far less fertile region for high school talent — to offset the potential commitments he could lose in the South. Cavanaugh said Edsall will have to begin exploring major Midwest cities such as Cincinnati, Kansas City, Mo., and Detroit, among others, to compete in the Big Ten. Of course, no conference realignment should impact Edsall’s emphasis on recruiting local talent. Twelve of football’s 17 commitments in the Class of 2013 are from the Delaware-MarylandWashington area, none of whom have publicly voiced apprehensions over the move to the Big Ten. “I’m excited about the opportunity,” said Milan Collins, Terpscommitted senior quarterback and safety at Forestville’s Bishop McNamara High School. “The Big Ten presents a physical presence. The offensive line is the main power there, but this won’t come into effect until my sophomore year. So I’m ready to play in both conferences and just compete.”

HOWARD From PAGE 8 Howard said he now feels no pressure to score. He is free to focus on defending, rebounding and fi nding the open man.

But getting comfortable in that role took some time. Recognizing Howard’s improved jump shot, Turgeon begged his starting point guard to shoot throughout the preseason.

Athletic Director Kevin Anderson speaks about this university’s move from the ACC to the Big Ten at yesterday’s news conference as Terps coaches, including football’s Randy Edsall (far right), look on. charlie deboyace/the diamondback to the team’s facilities came from the fundraising efforts of former coach Erik Bakich. Bakich, now the coach at soonto-be conference foe Michigan, helped the Terps install new turf, a new outfield wall and an indoor pitching and hitting facility.

More upgrades could be a prime recruiting tool for current coach John Szefc.

“To me, it’s kind of a no-brainer,” Szefc said of the move.

Cirovski will also be looking forward to the bountiful resources the move will potentially provide. He said he’s felt like a “full-time fundraiser” in recent years, a job that’s taken time away from recruiting and coaching his players.

The setup for his two-time national champion Terps teams at Ludwig Field was supposed to be temporary, he said

Howa rd responded w ith a disappointing 1-of-8 showing in the season opener against Kentucky, pressing at times in an effort to satisfy his coach.

Howard became a bit less trigger-happy when the Terps returned to Comcast Center, registering zero shot attempts Monday against Morehead State and two Friday against LIU Brooklyn. Counting an exhibition win over Indiana (Pa.), Howard shot 3-of-14 over his

earlier this fall.

“Now, I think we’ll have more resources to compete,” Cirovski said.

“A lot of us have been surviving with smoke and mirrors.”

Terps teams are entering uncharted territory in the move to the Big Ten. No coach or player knows exactly how it’s going to end up. All they know is things are going to be different.

“Change is good,” Szefc said. “As long as it’s calculated change, it’s good.

You’ve got to embrace it, and you’ve got to work with it.”

Senior staff writer Connor Letourneau and staff writer Nicholas Munson contributed to this article. sportsdbk@gmail.com

first two games this season. He is 1-of-2 in the past two.

“After the [Morehead State] game, people were making a big deal, like, ‘Why didn’t you take a shot?’” Howard said. “I didn’t care. I just wanted my teammates to be happy. I wanted everybody to have fun and make sure that we’re doing well.”

Mission accomplished. Howard’s 25-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio this season has been an integral part of the Terps’ early

success and has helped silence questions about whether freshman Seth Allen should replace him in the starting lineup.

Allen has impressed early with his offensive repertoire, but Turgeon mentioned last week the Woodbridge, Va., n at ive st i l l has a scorer’s mentality. He looks for his shot before trying to run the of fense. Given the Ter ps’ s udden ab u nd a nce of offensive weapons, T urgeon

prefers to have a sta r ti ng floor general who is content serving as a distributor.

“If you bring a scoring point guard in, he’s going to take the role as a combo guard. We don’t really need that,” Wells said. “[Howard] scores when necessary, and he passes when necessary, and he does what he’s supposed to do. He does what Coach Turgeon asks of him.”

Turgeon has high expectations for his point guard play.

The majority of Terps recruits seem to share Collins’ sentiments, Cavanaugh said. No recruit in any sport had decommitted as of last night, and Terps coaches spent much of the day trying to alleviate any of their future players’ potential concerns.

Cirovski talked with recruits for about an hour before yesterday’s news conference, expressing confidence in the administration’s decision to leave the ACC after 59 years. Baseball coach John Szefc plans to take a similar approach, telling players how the Big Ten contract will provide enough money to upgrade the program’s facilities.

Frese, meanwhile, went as far as telling recruits that she would make sure they could play their “ACC dream opponents” in nonconference games once the Terps join the Big Ten. But none of those selling points were a deciding factor for Brown.

The U.S. women’s Under-18 national team member said she fell in love with the school, not the opponents it plays. No conference change was going to break that bond.

It just took a little education for her to reach that realization.

“I was a little upset at first, but now I’m excited,” Brown said.

“Now we can just take over the Big Ten like we took over the ACC.” Senior staff writer Daniel Gallen contributed to this article. sportsdbk@gmail.com

It’s why he hounds Howard in practice, giving him little room for error.

But Friday, Turgeon had no constructive criticism for his No. 1 pupil. At least for one night, he was content.

“I don’t know if he can play like that [all season],” Turgeon said. “For this early in the year, that was a good game. I was proud of him.” sportsdbk@gmail.com

QUOTE OF THE DAY Terrell Stoglin Former men’s basketball guard

“That tradition’s gone. I feel like if coach Gary Williams was there, they wouldn’t be in the Big Ten. They’d stay in the ACC.”

Sports

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ON THE WEB

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Terps in the B1G TEN

The Terrapins athletic teams are moving from the ACC to the Big Ten in 2014. The Terps have had experience playing Big Ten opponents over the past few years: women’s basketball faced Michigan in 2011 (top, left), women’s lacrosse hosted Penn State in 2011 (top, right), men’s soccer played Penn State in 2010 (bottom, left), men’s basketball battled Illinois in 2010 (bottom, center) and field hockey played against Northwestern in 2011 (bottom, right). Several Terps coaches look on during yesterday’s announcement (top, center). charlie deboyace/the diamondback (top, center), file photos/the diamondback

Coaches know they will have to adjust to changes in recruiting, competition in move to Big Ten

By Daniel Gallen Senior staff writer Sasho Cirovski couldn’t help but draw a simple comparison when he learned yesterday this university would be departing the ACC for the Big Ten. “It’s like telling your kids you’re going to move from one neighborhood to another,” the Terrapins men’s soccer coach said. “The parents know it’s the right thing to do. The kids aren’t going to be happy, but there’s opportunities for new friendships, new relationships, new opportunities.”

Coaches throughout the athletic department echoed that sentiment after yesterday’s press conference at Stamp Student Union. At first, the move came as a surprise. The Terps, after all, were a founding member of the ACC and a staple of the conference. But coaches began to understand the logic behind the move after having more time to consider it. It’s a change, they reasoned. Their teams will just have to adjust.

“Everybody was caught off guard initially, but that’s a normal reaction when you talk about change,” Terps women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese said. “Those that are able to adapt to change and understand it are the ones that are able to take advantage of the opportunity.”

The move, which university President Wallace Loh and Athletic Director Kevin Anderson said is designed to “ensure the financial stability” of the

department, cuts ties with a conference in which the Terps were steeped in tradition and ends rivalries with the likes of Duke, North Carolina and Virginia.

Now, the Terps will welcome lauded programs such as Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State to College Park for annual matchups in all sports.

Some saw it as a blow to the Terps’ competition. The ACC developed a reputation as one of the top conferences in the nation for sports including basketball, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. The Big Ten, though it boasts some of the best football programs in history and a strong basketball presence, doesn’t have the same reputation in some of the nonrevenue sports.

For current Terps, though, the move is simply a byproduct of the collegiate athletics landscape.

“They understand it,” Frese said of her team’s reaction. “I think they’ve handled it better, to be quite honest, than a lot of traditionalists and people that have been here. I think, from a younger generation’s standpoint, they’ve moved through it very quickly.

They understand it’s competition.”

The men’s lacrosse team, which was poised to be in a powerful six-team conference after the addition of Syracuse and Notre Dame in coming years, faces the biggest change. The Big Ten doesn’t sponsor men’s lacrosse, and only three schools — Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State — have teams.

See COACHES, Page 7

COACHES REACT SASHO CIROVSKI Terps men’s soccer coach “We’re going to go to the Big Ten and raise the level of soccer in the Big Ten and help make it the best conference in the country. “

BRENDA FRESE Terps women’s basketball coach “It’s not about conference. [Recruits] didn’t come here for a conference.

They came here to be at the University of Maryland.”

JOHN TILLMAN Terps men’s lacrosse coach “We know lacrosse is always going to be important, so we play for our state and our school.”

KERRY McCOY Terps wrestling coach “When we move on, our goal is to be the best team in the Big Ten. We still have to be focused on being the best team we can be.”

TIM HORSMON Terps volleyball coach “You can pretty easily argue that it’s the best conference in the country. ... It’s a leap for sure, but it’s exciting.”

Terps recruits look to coaches for reassurance after university announces change in conference

By Connor Letourneau Senior staff writer Lexie Brown grew increasingly anxious Sunday night. The North Gwinnett High School (Ga.) senior guard had seen the tweets and heard the rumors surrounding the Terps’ potential move to the Big Ten. She pondered never playing the likes of North Carolina and Duke. She thought about what it would mean to leave arguably her sport’s most dominant conference for what she said was an up-and-coming one. And then, when the anticipation became too much to handle, she called Terrapins women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese.

That’s when the education process began. Frese, who landed Brown’s verbal commitment nearly two-anda-half years ago, detailed the benefits of a conference switch. She touched upon the improved facilities, the athletic department’s long-term financial stability and the unique opportunities Big Ten competition presents.

That brief conversation was enough to alleviate Brown’s concerns and reinvigorate her excitement to join the Terps next season. And as the university’s move to the Big Ten became official yesterday, such conversations became commonplace for the Terps’ entire coaching staff. Recruits had questions, and coaches needed to provide answers.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to this university,” Frese said.

“It comes down to Maryland. It comes down to relationships. It’ll be our jobs as coaches to sell that with recruits.”

For Frese and other accomplished Terps coaches — men’s basketball’s Mark Turgeon and men’s soccer’s Sasho Cirovski, among others — recruiting in a new conference is that simple. Why drastically change your approach when you’ve already established a formula for success?

But even the university’s most skilled recruiters will likely have to adjust to a simple reality: The conference change will impact their recruiting base.

Given the geographic makeup of the ACC, the Terps had a built-in network with certain Southern recruiting hotbeds. Coaches could sell top-tier athletes in South Carolina, Georgia or Florida on the idea of playing annual games near their hometowns.

Now, recruiting the South could become a bit more difficult — especially for football coach Randy Edsall’s staff.

“When you look at going into the deep South and whatnot, especially football, Maryland’s not going to be able to have that as a primary area anymore,” said Keith Cavanaugh, editor in chief of the university’s Rivals.com affiliate, TerrapinTimes.com. “Maryland’s not going to be able to pull kids from the South every year anymore.”

Cavanaugh said Frese and Turgeon won’t need to fret over losing the South because they’ve already proven See RECRUITS, Page 7

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Howard responds to criticism in win over LIU Brooklyn Guard will lead Terps in matchup with Lafayette tonight

By Connor Letourneau Senior staff writer Pe’Shon Howard is no stranger to criticism. The Terrapins men’s basketball point guard hears it every day in practice.

When he commits a turnover or takes an ill-advised shot, Howard has fou r former point g ua rds — coach Mark Turgeon and assistants Dalonte Hill, Bino Ranson and Scott Spinelli — barking in his ear. When he reviews game film one-on-one with Turgeon, a captain on Kansas’ 1986 Final Four team, there is rarely a miscue that goes unidentified.

So when T urgeon approached Howard after Friday’s 91-74 win over LIU Brooklyn and praised the junior for dishing out 13 assists, few could’ve

blamed the Los Angeles native for basking in a rare compliment. Instead, Howard provided one fi nal assist.

“Coach told me, ‘Good job getting so many assists,’ and I told him, ‘It only happens if they make shots,’” recalled Howard, who will hope to follow up that star-making performance tonight against Lafayette.

It was a telling statement. After missing 18 games last year with a broken bone in his left foot and a torn ACL, Howard is embracing his role as the facilitator of a suddenly deep Terps offense.

That became clear when Howard delivered perhaps the most impeccable stat line of his Terps career against the Blackbirds. He had 13 assists, seven rebounds, seven points on 1-of-2 shooting (4-of-4 on free throws) and

one turnover in 32 minutes.

After the game, Turgeon said it wouldn’t be fair to expect that kind of output every night. Howard, though, sees no reason why not.

“When I walk into a game, my double-double is really assists and rebounds. That’s what I’m trying to get,” said Howard, whose 13 assists fell just two short of Greivis Vasquez’s program record. “Hopefully if I can, I’ll switch to triple-doubles. But that’s my goal every night, is just make sure I can help my teammates.”

T hat task got a bit easier this season. With the addition of a fourmember freshman class ranked No. 18 nationally and two key transfers in Logan Aronhalt and Dez Wells, See HOWARD, Page 7

Guard Pe’Shon Howard totaled seven points, seven rebounds and a career-high 13 assists on 1-of-2 shooting in the Terps’ 91-74 victory against LIU Brooklyn on Friday at Comcast Center. charlie deboyace/the diamondback