page_title: Maryland Terrapins football, 1892–1946
section_title: Conferences reshuffle
hierarchical_section_title: Maryland Terrapins football, 1892–1946 / The Curley Byrd era: 1911–1934 / Conferences reshuffle
caption_attribution_description: English: Navy attempts a forward pass during the 1931 Maryland–Navy football game at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.
context_page_description: The modern Maryland Terrapins football program representing the University of Maryland traces its lineage to the team first formed at what was then the Maryland Agricultural College in 1892. In the initial years, due to the rudimentary state of intercollegiate athletics and interstate travel, all games were played against local colleges, high schools, and athletic clubs.
  In 1902, Maryland hired its first professional coach, John Markey, and soon after drafted a "football philosophy", an early attempt at a codification of college football. During his tenure as head coach from 1911 to 1934, Harry C. "Curley" Byrd significantly increased Maryland's strength of schedule, and recorded victories over then-powerhouses Penn and Yale. Byrd also greatly increased school support and interest in the sport, and was responsible for the building of the school's first stadium in 1923.
  Byrd became the university president in 1935, and continued his support for Maryland football from that office. As a coach, he was succeeded by several prominent individuals, namely Clark Shaughnessy, who had perfected the T-formation, and Paul "Bear" Bryant, who later went on to great success at Alabama.
context_section_description: For the 1920 season, Maryland played in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SAIAA). Meanwhile, members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) were locked in a heated debate over whether first-year students should be eligible to play football. The larger schools, in general, were against the practice, and eventually the disagreement resulted in a schism within the SIAA. Eight teams from the SIAA split to form the Southern Conference: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Tennessee. They were joined by six non-SIAA members: North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington & Lee, and Maryland. Maryland would remain within the Southern Conference for the next three decades.
  In 1923, the eponymous stadium, for which Byrd had petitioned funding, was completed at a cost of $60,000 with a maximum capacity of 10,000. That season was also one of Byrd's most successful. He hired former Maryland quarterback and future long-time basketball coach, Burton Shipley, as an assistant coach. The team shutout five of its opponents and held Johns Hopkins and Catholic to just six points apiece, for an overall record of 7–2–1. The only losses came at Yale and against Virginia Tech. Maryland led Yale, 14–12, at halftime, but a referee ruled incomplete a drop kick that Byrd claimed was good by a "country mile". Yale won the game, 16–14. Mainly for his performance against Yale and Penn, end Bill "Zeke" Supplee was named an All-American by the Associated Press. He was the first Maryland player honored as such.
  In 1928, Maryland finished with a 6–3–1 record, but tallied wins over "three of [its] ancient rivals": Johns Hopkins, Yale, and Virginia. That season, Gerald "Snitz" Snyder became the second Old Liner to be named an All-American, when the Associated Press selected him to their second-team.
  In 1933, Byrd spearheaded the adoption of the diamondback terrapin as the official school mascot. He had already renamed the student newspaper The Diamondback in 1921, and the football team was referred to as the "Terrapins", in addition to the older nicknames, as early as 1928. At some point, newspapers shortened the nickname to the "Terps" in order to abridge headlines.
caption: In 1931, Maryland sees action against in-state rival Navy at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C..
exif: {}