Terps uniforms garner national attention On Monday night, the Maryland Terrapins sold out Byrd Stadium, debuted a new head coach, beat one of the nation’s signature football programs and unveiled an electric spread offense and perhaps even a longshot Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Danny O’Brien.
But a day after their 32-24 victory over Miami, the main topic of conversation was the Terps’ unique uniforms, fashioned after the Maryland state flag.
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If it was the goal of Maryland’s twin towers of influence, athletic director Kevin Anderson and Under Armour founder Kevin Plank, to create interest for a new era of Terps football, they accomplished it.
According to Matt Monroe, assistant athletic director/ticket services, phones in his office were ringing after the game.
“We were getting calls literally at midnight,” said Monroe, who added that Tuesday was one of the busiest days he could remember but couldn’t quantify the number of orders received.
During much of the game, Maryland was the No. 1 search topic on Google. According to Sports Illustrated, Maryland’s uniforms generated more Twitter traffic than any sports subject since LeBron James’ “Decision,” 14 months ago.
Even James, a former high school football star in Ohio, registered his disapproval of the Terps’ getup via Twitter.
New Maryland coach Randy Edsall was ridiculed last week for refusing to reveal which uniform the Terps would wear. On Monday night, it was clear why it was such a closely guarded secret.
“This was something [Under Armour] had planned, and we had planned to break this one out for this game,” Edsall said on Tuesday. “Being that this game was on national TV, a national stage, we felt this would be the best time to do it.”
On a lackluster holiday evening when Maryland-Miami was the only college football game, the NFL regular season has yet to begin, and there were only four major league baseball games in progress, Maryland recognized its rare opportunity.
The Terps are not breaking new ground. Maryland is following the lead of Oregon. With the help of Nike, the previously nondescript Ducks have set themselves apart with distinctive uniforms and an up-tempo, no-huddle offense.
There’s little question that Oregon’s branding has increased its recruiting reach. Edsall hopes to cash-in as well.
“The recruits that were here were in awe of the uniforms,” Edsall said of the high school players the Terps entertained on Monday night.
With Maryland idle this weekend, Edsall said he will hit the recruiting trail hard, with trips planned to Ohio and Pennsylvania. He also will take in a game between the top two high school teams in Maryland, No. ?1 Good Counsel and No. 2 Gilman on Saturday night in Annapolis.
