Maryland Terrapins football , 1856 – 1946 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 ( MAC ) 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 onto great success at Alabama . After just one season at Maryland , a conflict with Byrd resulted in Bryant ' s departure . The early years : 1856 – 1901 . Introduction of football at Maryland . Informally , football and baseball games had been played at the Maryland Agricultural College as early as the time of the Civil War . In 1890 , an unofficial school team composed mostly of Maryland Agricultural students saw action against local high schools Laurel and Sandy Spring . It was not officially sanctioned by the college , but was allowed to use the school ' s name . In 1891 , the same team played three games against Gallaudet , Hyattsville , and Sandy Spring . The victory over Sandy Spring prompted the MAC faculty to officially recognize the team . In 1892 , the first official Maryland Agricultural football team , known as the " Aggies " or " Farmers " , was formed by quarterback William Skinner , who also served concurrently as the head coach . They went scoreless in that inaugural season with losses to St . John ' s College , Johns Hopkins , and Episcopal High School . In the game against Episcopal , halfback Pearse " Shorty " Prough gained the only positive yardage for the team — after first running in the wrong direction for 30 yards , before changing course for a net gain of 35 yards . Episcopal ' s school newspaper , the " Monthly Chronicle " , stated that the play " showed an unaccreditable ignorance of football . " The following season , in 1893 , showed significant improvement . Maryland won all six of its games , including ones against Baltimore City College , St . John ' s , and Western Maryland . The St . John ' s match was controversial , however . After the game , St . John ' s players wrote in the " Baltimore American " that " a decision by which the M . A . C . were allowed to score the only touchdown made by the quarterback after a run of 90 yards , with no one in pursuit , appeared a very doubtful one . " At the end of the season , Maryland Agricultural was awarded both the District of Columbia and the state collegiate championships . The awarding of the Maryland state championship , however , was protested by St . John ' s , which claimed that it was the deserving team . Formation of the MIFA . In 1894 , former coach and quarterback William Skinner helped lead the formation of the Maryland Intercollegiate Football Association ( MIFA ) in order to improve the process of naming the state champions . Other teams involved included Baltimore City College , Gallaudet , Johns Hopkins , Washington College , and Western Maryland . The game against St . John ' s once again aroused controversy , and the MAC accused their opponent of hiring ringer s from Lehigh . When Johns Hopkins canceled their game , Maryland arranged to play Georgetown instead . The Maryland team called the game with a 6 – 4 lead as darkness fell . However , the referee , Georgetown halfback Mike Mahoney , ruled it a forfeiture and awarded the win to Georgetown . Today , Maryland and Georgetown both count the game as a Maryland Agricultural win in their records . A brief hiatus . In 1895 , Maryland Agricultural , a land - grant school with a military curriculum requirement , had a new commandant of cadets take office . Lieutenant Clough Overton , who opposed football at the university , cut funding for equipment and instituted strict rules limiting practice time . Instead of accepting this serious disadvantage against their opponents , the players declined to field a football team for the season . The following season , there was a renewal of football at Maryland . Fullback Grenville Lewis was elected as team captain and head coach . He instituted a strict physical training regimen involving calisthenics and long - distance running , and banned smoking , drinking , and eating pie during the football season . This was unpopular with the team , but Lewis was embraced by the students and faculty . In the game to decide the state championship , Maryland Agricultural faced Maryland - Baltimore . Late in the scoreless game , the Aggies pushed to their opponents ' two - yard line . With darkness approaching and Maryland Agricultural having difficulty scoring , the referee called the game . It became clear that Maryland - Baltimore had sneaked three extra players onto the field , but the referee refused to award the Aggies the win . Two days later , the Maryland – Baltimore players voted to forfeit the game , and with it the championship , to Maryland Agricultural . In 1897 , Maryland faced Johns Hopkins for the first time since the Aggies ' inaugural season . Hopkins beat Maryland handily , 30 – 6 , and the Aggies went on to lose their next three games to finish the year with a 2 – 4 mark . The 1898 season saw the Aggies finish 2 – 5 – 1 and in 1899 , the team canceled the remainder of its season after accumulating a 1 – 4 record . Maryland saw a marginal improvement to 3 – 4 – 1 in 1900 , but then fell to a 1 – 7 season in 1901 . The first professional coaches : 1902 – 1910 . A football philosophy . In 1902 , Maryland Agricultural paid $ 300 for its first professional football coach , John Markey . Markey re - instated physical conditioning and incorporated a tackling dummy during practice for the first time at the school . He led Maryland to a 3 – 5 – 2 record his first season , before improving to 7 – 4 in his second year . Markey had not planned to play on the team , but was forced to fill in for a fullback who was intimidated by a death threat from a Georgetown fan . The following year , in the game against Columbian ( now The George Washington University ) , their opponents complained that Markey was a professional . Maryland Agricultural responded with the same accusation against Columbian fullback Granville Church , and the teams came to an agreement to let both play . Markey went on to score the only points of the game in a 6 – 0 Maryland Agricultural victory . At this time , there was no official regulating body for college sports . The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States ( IAAUS ) , predecessor to the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) , was not formed until 1906 . Maryland Agricultural attempted to rectify this lack of regulation by writing a " philosophy " for the sport , which stated in part that it would " offer no inducements to any athlete . " After his request for a salary increase was rebuffed , Markey coached part - time in 1904 . Maryland recorded a 2 – 4 – 2 record , and he did not return as head coach the following year . Markey was replaced by Fred Nielsen , a former Nebraska halfback . Arrival of Curley Byrd . Under Nielsen in 1905 , Harry " Curley " Byrd began his long career at Maryland . He saw his first action as an end late in the 0 – 17 loss to the Naval Academy . Byrd impressed Nielsen enough to earn the starting position for the remainder of the season . He would also play baseball and run track and field at the school , where he set the records for the 50 - ( 5 . 2 seconds ) , 100 - ( 10 seconds ) , and 220 - yard ( 22 . 3 seconds ) dashes . In 1906 , Byrd also played as a quarterback , and in 1907 , a kicker . Additionally , he assisted with coaching , as head coach Charles Melick and assistant coach Durant Church had other full - time jobs . The Curley Byrd era : 1911 – 1934 . In 1911 , Charley Donnelly was the head coach for the first seven games , before stepping down with a 2 – 4 – 1 record . Due to injuries , Maryland did not have enough players to field a practice squad and turned to local high schools for scrimmages . Curley Byrd was serving as the football coach at one of these high schools and agreed to take the head coaching job at Maryland , his alma mater . Byrd held that position for 24 years , making him the longest - serving football coach in school history . During this time , he developed a unique offensive scheme called the " Byrd system " , which combined elements of the single - wing and double - wing formation s . He also coached the basketball and baseball teams from 1913 to 1923 . Founding of the University of Maryland . The campus was devastated by a fire in 1912 , which deepened the school ' s grave financial difficulties . In 1916 , the state government took full control of the school and renamed it Maryland State College . Byrd became the assistant athletic director in 1918 and assisted in the consolidation with the professional colleges in Baltimore , which resulted in the creation of the University of Maryland . During this time , the team was referred as ' The Old Liners ' , most likely in reference to the state nickname . During his tenure , Byrd greatly increased fan and faculty interest and financial support for football at Maryland . Prior to 1912 , the team lacked any facilities and its one field left much to be desired . In 1915 , Byrd requested funds for the school ' s first stadium and associated facilities . In 1913 , Maryland Agricultural compiled a 6 – 3 record . The team shut - out four Maryland state universities : Johns Hopkins ( 26 – 0 ) , Western Maryland ( 46 – 0 ) , St . John ' s ( 13 – 0 ) , and Washington College ( 20 – 0 ) . For the feat , Maryland Agricultural won the state championship . In 1914 , the MAC tallied a 5 – 3 record . In intrastate play , the Farmers recorded wins over Johns Hopkins , St . John ' s , and Washington College , and a loss to Western Maryland . Once again , the team secured the state championship . The following year , Maryland met Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field on Thanksgiving Day , which drew the venue ' s all - time record crowd of 13 , 000 spectators . Hopkins won a hard - fought defensive struggle , 3 – 0 , and the two teams met on the occasion all but two subsequent years through 1934 , the final game of the series . Jack Faber , who played for Byrd at the time , said that Maryland scheduled games against " four or five schools every year we had no right beating . " Maryland achieved a winning record each season during Byrd ' s first decade of coaching , from 1911 to 1920 . In that period , the team also accumulated a 7 – 2 – 1 record against arch - rival Johns Hopkins . The following decade , the team played an increasingly difficult and farther afield schedule . During the 1920s Maryland recorded wins against some of the period ' s powerhouses : Yale , Rutgers , Princeton , Pennsylvania , Syracuse , Cornell , and North Carolina . Conferences reshuffle . 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 . Big - name coaches : 1935 – 1946 . When Byrd became the university president in 1935 , Jack Faber replaced him as head coach and accumulated a 7 – 2 – 2 record . The following year , Frank Dobson , former Georgia Tech assistant coach under John Heisman , assumed the head coaching position . After a 6 – 5 first season , Dobson led the Terrapins to an 8 – 2 record in 1937 . The highlight of the season was a 13 – 0 shutout of 17th - ranked Syracuse . In the homecoming game , Charlie Weidinger completed a pass to William Bryant for a 13 – 7 go - ahead over Florida . The Terrapins ' two losses came against Penn and Penn State , the latter being the second game in a rivalry that would bedevil Maryland throughout its entire duration . At the end of the season , Maryland was declared the Southern Conference champions , the team ' s first major conference title . The following two years , 1938 and 1939 , saw Dobson ' s teams accumulate 2 – 7 records , and he was replaced by Jack Faber . However , Faber did not have much more success , going 2 – 6 – 1 in 1940 and 3 – 5 – 1 in 1941 . Shaughnessy ' s T - formation . In 1942 , Clark Shaughnessy was hired as head coach . Shaughnessy had achieved fame at Stanford , where he installed his quarterback - centric version of the T - formation as his primary offensive scheme . In response , Glenn " Pop " Warner had said , " If Stanford wins a single game with that crazy formation , you can throw all the football I ever knew in the Pacific Ocean . " Stanford , which had gone 1 – 7 – 1 the previous season , went undefeated in Shaughnessy ' s first year and earned the number - two ranking in the final AP Poll . Shaughnessy was named 1940 College Coach of the Year for the turnaround performance . Under Shaughnessy , the Terps went 7 – 2 , with one of the losses a 0 – 42 shutout at Duke , which in five seasons had won the Southern Conference three times and been ranked in the AP top - 20 four times . After one season , Shaughnessy left Maryland for Pittsburgh . For 1943 and 1944 , Clarence Spears was the Maryland head coach . Like Shaughnessy , Spears had taken an underachieving team and turned them around . In 1925 , he took over Minnesota , which had posted a 3 – 3 – 2 record the prior season , and led them to a share of the 1927 Big Ten championship . However , at Maryland , when Spears accumulated a record of 5 – 12 – 1 after two seasons , he too was replaced . Bryant ' s brief stint . In 1945 , Paul " Bear " Bryant , who would later go on to achieve legendary status among football coaches , was named the head coach at Maryland . During his first year as a college head coach , Bryant led Maryland to a respectable 6 – 2 – 1 record , including a last - second win over out - of - state rival Virginia . However , he resigned after just one season , when university president Curley Byrd reinstated a player that Bryant had suspended . In 1946 , Clark Shaughnessy returned from Pittsburgh to Maryland for one more season . That year , the Terrapins recorded a 3 – 6 season including losses to North Carolina , South Carolina , Michigan State , and N . C . State . After that , Shaughnessy went on to coach the National Football League ' s Los Angeles Rams in 1948 and 1949 .