Johns Hopkins – Maryland rivalry The Johns Hopkins – Maryland rivalry is an intercollegiate sports rivalry between the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays , which represent Johns Hopkins University , and the Maryland Terrapins , which represent the University of Maryland . The most prominent event has been the men ' s lacrosse series , which is widely regarded as the greatest rivalry in the sport . More than 100 contests in the series have been played since the schools first met in 1895 . The competition is intensified by each programs ' status as a traditional lacrosse powerhouse . As such , the game has often held national championship implications , and twice the teams played to represent the United States in the Olympics . The schools currently meet only in lacrosse , as all other Johns Hopkins athletics fall under NCAA Division III and all Maryland athletics are Division I . From the late 19th into the 20th century , however , their football teams also competed regularly . More recently , the schools have played in women ' s lacrosse . NCAA alignment . In 1971 , the National Collegiate Athletic Association instituted a three - tier classification system , which created Division I , Division II , and Division III . The third tier , Division III , is the one in which no athletic scholarship s are awarded to student - athletes . Johns Hopkins , as a perennial lacrosse power , chose to continue competition in Division I in that sport , while all of its other athletic teams were relegated to Division III . In 2004 , the NCAA upheld the decision to allow Division III schools to " play up " , and grant scholarships , in a sport at the Division I level ( usually ice hockey ) . Since Maryland competes strictly at the Division I level , the two schools currently meet only in men ' s and women ' s lacrosse . Men ' s lacrosse . Background . The media and both schools have called Johns Hopkins – Maryland the greatest and most historic rivalry in men ' s lacrosse . " Sports Illustrated " ranked it among the best all - time college rivalries , and before the teams ' 100th meeting , called it " the equivalent of Michigan – Ohio State in football . " A 2003 Harris Interactive poll found that Marylander s considered it the state ' s fourth biggest rivalry after the Cowboys – Redskins , Ravens – Redskins , and Duke – Maryland . The Hopkins – Maryland all - time record differs based upon whether games played before Maryland had a varsity team are counted . Johns Hopkins recognizes those games and records the series as 68 – 38 – 1 in its own favor . Maryland , however , recognizes only games played since the formation of their varsity team in 1924 , which puts the all - time record at 61 – 38 – 1 , also in favor of Hopkins . The rivalry , which is the oldest in the sport , is fueled by history , competitiveness , and cultural reasons . Both schools are located in the state of Maryland , a historical hotbed for lacrosse , and have traditionally been two of the sport ' s powerhouses . Many of the opposing players have had past associations in grade school , high school , or youth club sports . Hopkins ' current coach and former player Dave Pietramala said , " Everybody knew each other ; we had all played together at some point or another . It was a fierce , intense game and there was no love lost on the field . " Additionally , Johns Hopkins is a private university , while Maryland is a public institution . Former Terrapins coach Dick Edell said : " To get the juices flowing before the game , [ we ' d tell the Maryland ] kids that it was the blue - collar guys against the future executives — that this was their only chance to get them before they got into the real world . Plus , you have all the kids who came from the same high school , or worked the camps together , so there was that closeness that you have to live with for the other 364 days , no matter who wins . " Early years . The two teams first played in 1895 and met six more times through 1923 . In those early matches , Johns Hopkins scored a combined sixty points to Maryland ' s three . In 1924 , Maryland fielded its first varsity - level lacrosse team , which defeated Hopkins , 4 – 2 , but the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association ( USILA ) awarded the Blue Jays the co - national championship ( along with Syracuse ) . Since that season , the teams have met annually with the exception of a two - year hiatus due to World War II . Johns Hopkins won three straight national titles from 1926 to 1928 , where each season culminated with a victory over Maryland . In 1928 , Maryland had a perfect 9 – 0 record until Johns Hopkins defeated the Terps in the season finale , 6 – 3 . At season ' s end , a single - elimination tournament was held to determine which team would represent the United States in a trial lacrosse competition during the Summer Olympics . Maryland defeated Navy and Rutgers to advance to the final game , where they were again bested by Johns Hopkins . The following season , the Terrapins embarked upon a three - year run in which they lost only four games , and they defeated the Blue Jays each season including a shutout , 6 – 0 , in 1930 . In 1932 , however , Hopkins defeated Maryland twice during the regular season and once more in a postseason game to decide participation in the Olympics . Between 1930 and 1934 , the Blue Jays won three national championships and lost only two games , both of which were to the Terrapins . Maryland captured national titles in 1936 , 1937 , and 1939 . That year , however , Hopkins managed to break a four - game losing streak against them . The Terrapins won the 1940 title by beating the undefeated Blue Jays , 7 – 6 , in the series ' first game decided by one goal . Maryland finished the season with a perfect 10 – 0 record . The following year , Hopkins finished 12 – 0 and captured the national championship after a convincing victory over Maryland , 10 – 3 . Johns Hopkins secured four more national titles from 1947 to 1950 , and defeated Maryland each year , three times by a margin of at least six goals . Several days before the game in 1947 , Hopkins supporters stole " Testudo " , a 300 - pound bronze statue of a diamondback terrapin , from the Maryland campus . Approximately 200 Terrapins fans drove to Baltimore to retrieve it , and a riot erupted before the city police intervened . The Hopkins dean ordered the students to return the statue , which they did after painting a blue ' H ' on its back . Maryland dominance . In the 1950s , the two teams won a combined six national championships , with Maryland dominating the first part of the decade and Johns Hopkins the latter . Between 1951 and 1956 , Maryland posted a 5 – 0 – 1 record against Hopkins , with three games won by at least six points . The Terps won consecutive national titles in 1955 and 1956 , while posting a combined record of 21 – 0 . In 1957 , the Blue Jays snapped the Terrapins ' 31 - game winning streak with an upset win , 15 – 10 . Two years later , both teams shared the national title with Army . Between 1955 and 1959 , Maryland compiled a 48 – 3 record , with all three losses at the hands of Johns Hopkins . In 1960 , Navy became the first team other than Hopkins to defeat Maryland since 1954 . That same year marked the start of Navy ' s eight - year national championship streak that lasted through 1967 . That season , Navy beat Maryland 10 – 8 , before traveling to Homewood Field . There , Johns Hopkins upset Navy , 9 – 6 , for the first time in their last ten meetings . The Blue Jays and Terrapins met for the season finale where Hopkins needed a victory to win the national title outright . Maryland acted as a spoiler , however , and beat Johns Hopkins , 9 – 5 , to take a share of the championship . Hopkins went on to win or share the next four national titles . Advent of the NCAA tournament . In 1971 , the NCAA replaced the USILA as the awarding authority for the men ' s lacrosse championship with the introduction of a tournament . Since then , the Blue Jays and Terrapins have appeared in the finals a combined 27 times and have met each other in the finals three times . In 1972 , Maryland beat Johns Hopkins in the regular season , 13 – 12 , to earn the number - one seed . The two teams met again in the semifinals , where Hopkins eliminated Maryland , 9 – 6 , and advanced to the finals before losing to Virginia by one goal . The following two years , Hopkins and Maryland met in the finals . In 1973 , Maryland routed Hopkins during the regular season , 17 – 4 . That year ' s Terrapins , led by future Hall of Fame inductee and four - time All - American Frank Urso , are considered one of the all - time best college lacrosse teams and averaged almost 18 goals a game . When the teams met in the championship game , however , the Blue Jays employed a possession game to offset Maryland ' s offensive firepower , and the first shot on goal did not take place until 8 : 38 . At halftime , Johns Hopkins had taken a 5 – 2 lead . Time expired with the score tied , 9 – 9 , which forced the game into overtime . Urso scored for the Terrapins to take a 10 – 9 lead and Maryland goalie Bill O ' Donnell made several impressive saves to secure the win . The following year , Maryland was again named the top - seed , despite having lost to second - seed Johns Hopkins during the regular season . In the championship game , Hopkins quickly took the lead , led by Hall of Fame attackman Jack Thomas and entered halftime with a 10 – 4 advantage . In the second half , Maryland outscored them 8 – 7 , but the effort fell short . In 1975 , Maryland defeated Hopkins , 19 – 11 , before winning the national title , and won again the following year , 21 – 13 , on their way to finish as national championship runners - up after an overtime loss to Cornell in the final . In 1977 , the Blue Jays edged the Terrapins , 21 – 20 , in the regular season and began a run in the series . Hopkins eliminated Maryland in the tournament semifinals in both 1977 and 1978 , before beating them in the 1979 championship game at home in College Park , Maryland . During that game , the Blue Jays were able to limit the Terrapins ' second all - time leading scorer and 1979 attackman of the year Bob Boneillo . During the 1970s , Maryland participated in six NCAA title games , including four in a row from 1973 to 1976 . During that span , the Terps won two national titles and lost four . Hopkins dominance . During the 1980s , Johns Hopkins dominated the series , winning 12 of 13 games , including nine by an average margin of 5 . 6 points . During this period Hopkins , led by head coach Henry Ciccarone , won three national titles . By 1987 , Maryland ' s fourth - year head coach Dick Edell had helped revitalize the Terrapins as a national power . Maryland posted an 11 – 0 record during the regular season , where the win over Hopkins , 11 – 7 , was the only game decided by less than six goals . In the NCAA tournament , Maryland defeated Penn in the quarterfinals , 12 – 8 , and advanced to again meet Hopkins in the semifinals . Despite having recorded its first three - loss season in over a decade , and having edged North Carolina in the quarterfinals , the Blue Jays upset the Terrapins , 13 – 8 . Hopkins , led by goalkeeper Quint Kessenich , advanced to win the national title against then undefeated Cornell in the final . Relative parity . In 1995 , Johns Hopkins narrowly retained an undefeated regular season by winning four one - goal games , which included an edging of Maryland , 16 – 15 . Hopkins entered the tournament as the number - one seed , and again met Maryland in the semifinals . Edell helped guide the Terps to an early lead , and they ended the half with an advantage , 10 – 4 , with the final result a rout , 16 – 8 . The performance of Maryland goalie Brian Dougherty earned him the title of the tournament ' s Most Outstanding Player , despite the Terps ' loss in the final against Syracuse . The following season , Maryland earned a number - two seeding after defeating Hopkins , 12 – 9 . The teams met again in the tournament quarterfinals , where , playing at home , Hopkins gained a 7 – 0 lead against heavily - favored Maryland . The Terrapins rallied , but the Blue Jays held them off to preserve victory , 9 – 7 . In 1998 at Homewood Field , Hopkins upset first - ranked Maryland , 10 – 6 during the regular season . This time when they met in the tournament quarterfinals , Maryland had the homefield advantage at Byrd Stadium . The Terps led 10 – 6 in the fourth quarter before the Blue Jays rallied to force overtime . Maryland , however , won the ensuing faceoff and scored after several shots on goal , never allowing Hopkins to gain possession of the ball . The Terps eventually advanced to the final , where they were defeated by Princeton . Recent years . From 2001 to 2003 , each match - up was decided by one goal . Maryland won coach Dick Edell ' s final , and Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala ' s first , game of the series in 2001 . The Blue Jays won the following two seasons , with both games decided in overtime . In 2004 , the teams played their 100th anniversary game and both sides wore special " throwback " jerseys . Hopkins scored five times before the first television timeout , then took an 8 – 1 first period lead on the way to a victory , 14 – 10 . Hopkins extended their streak to four wins in 2005 , before Maryland ' s new head coach Dave Cottle took away his first victory in 2006 . In 2009 , the teams played in the inaugural Day of Rivals double - header , where Hopkins preserved victory , 10 – 9 , when a final - second Maryland shot on the crease was deflected . The two met for the event again in 2010 , with Maryland coming out on top , 10 – 9 , due in part to a perfect four - for - four extra - man offense . Football . In 1892 , the Maryland Agricultural College fielded its first officially - recognized . In the third game of that season , they played Johns Hopkins at Clifton Park in Baltimore , and the more experienced " Hoppies " routed the " Aggies " , 62 – 0 . In 1894 , both schools became charter members of the Maryland Intercollegiate Football Association , which formed for the purpose of awarding the official Maryland state football championship . The Hoppies and Aggies , however , did not meet again until 1897 , when Johns Hopkins defeated Maryland in College Park , 30 – 0 . Johns Hopkins won the series ' first eight games without allowing a single Maryland score , for a combined margin of 190 – 0 . The Aggies broke the losing streak in 1910 with a stalemate , 11 – 11 . In the final minutes of the game , Hopkins was on the Maryland eight - yard line , second down with two yards to go . A Johns Hopkins guard named Schrieber then ran from the field to their bench to leave a knocked - out tooth for safekeeping . The referee penalized the Blue and Black ten yards , and when their field goal attempt was blocked , the game ended in a tie . In 1915 , the teams played their first game on Thanksgiving , which thereafter became an annual tradition . That game was held in front of 13 , 000 fans , the largest crowd in the history of Homewood Field . It was a defensive struggle with both teams having great difficulty in gaining yardage . A Johns Hopkins halfback named Hoffman missed eight field goal attempts in succession before the ninth met its mark for a Blue Jays win , 3 – 0 . From that day forward , Johns Hopkins and Maryland played all but two Thanksgiving Days through 1934 . Eleven of the series ' last twelve games were held in Baltimore Municipal Stadium . By 1928 , the series ' tide had turned heavily in Maryland ' s favor , and H . C . " Curley " Byrd coached the Terrapins to convincing victories in each of the final seven games . Women ' s lacrosse . The Johns Hopkins and Maryland women ' s lacrosse teams first played in 1979 in Arnold , Maryland , a game which the Lady Terps won handily , 17 – 1 . They did not meet again until after the Johns Hopkins women ' s team was promoted from Division III to Division I in 1999 . The following year , the teams met and have played each season since . As of 2010 , the Maryland women held a perfect record against Hopkins , having won all eleven meetings by a combined margin of 185 – 88 .