Without getting into the pros and cons as a fan, I wonder if anyone has any informed speculation about the impact on the local community. With Big Ten football fans swarming the area a few weekends each year, I expect this to be a boon for area hotels and restaurants. On the other hand, traffic could be awful those entire weekends and the area could get swarmed with obnoxious, out-of-town tailgaters.

Maryland will still suck no matter what conference they play in

Obviously it's for financial reasons....unfortunate. The history and tradition of the ACC can't be matched!

With their constant crying the blues about the need for tuition increases and state aid (our taxes), I find it to be completely ridiculous that U of M will shell out $50 Million to make this change. Regardless of whether it is endowment money or not, it could be used for better purposes (like maybe, helping academics). Television network revenue is not a guaranteed amount.

My favorite sports columnist, a Maryland alumni, thinks colleges should focus on academics and drop sports.

This is a Great move. The ACC is getting more teams that prevents us from the Duke and NC games anyway. Notice that we dont get home & home with them anymore? It will also open up more recruiting opportunities. Last, for football - we are the doormats of the ACC now. Why care where the butt whooping comes from. We will just get paid more for it.

This is a terrible move on every level. The football team will be clobbered in the Big Ten. Basketball can compete, but the great ACC rivalries will be lost. It's a last-ditch grab for TV money from the Big Ten network following a series of outrageous moves by the athletic department including over-spending on the empty luxury boxes at Byrd, firing solid coaches, and dropping seven varsity sports. Will these teams be reinstated? I doubt it.

UMD football is not up to the level of the Big 10. Get ready to see a lot of opposing team fans at home games (like when the Steelers play the Skins at FedEx). Basketball will compete but the game quality won't be as good as the ACC. Ultimately, they'll get more money. How much will actually benefit the school remains to be seen.

The move sucks! In this case fan support and tradition mean much money than $$$. The terps will be eaten alive. Can't you just see Ransy Edsall vs. Ohio State?

I don't like the move. But, on the other hand, maybe the Big Ten will require the Terps to wear real uniforms.

As an Illinois alumna, I should probably have stronger feelings about this!

This is a TERRIBLE move. Ken Anderson has been an unmittigated disaster for te University of Maryland. After a decade with two former players coaching their respective former teams withgreat success, we now have two losing programs. In a cash strapped athletic program, Anderson gets rid of Ralph Freidgen for the final year of his contract. they have to pay the Fridge $2 million NOT to coach- one year after he leads MD to a 9-4 record, and named ACC Coach of the Year. Friedgen bought stability and success to a program that went through numerous coaches before he got there.MD went 2-10 the next year. No wonder no one goes. Gary Williams led MD to two final fours and a national Championship, MD does not belong in the Big Ten , any more than Syracuse belongs in the ACC.
Why was all of this done so secretly and quickly? MD is an ACC charter school, and is going to suffer in the long run. I know of no one who is happy with this move. I, for one, will never go to another MD sporting event.

I am THRILLED with this move. As a Fighting Illini alumnus living in Germantown, this will bring my beloved Illini to town much more often. Good move.

And I'm not convinced that Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State will play at Byrd stadium. Their stadiums hold 80-1000 seats, over double the size of Maryland's home field. They may demand that the games be moved to FEDEX or Ravens stadium to accomodate more people. So maybe less home games on campus for students.

Considering big college sports is about making money it probably makes sense. Having said that, I stopped watching college sports years ago because it is just about making money and has very little to do with educating the athletes. I watch the pros because at least they get a say in league matters (i.e., union).

I am ok with it. The ACC is a poor football conference and the Big 10 is a strong basketball conference. We will be terrible at football the the Big 10 will gain a champion in lacrosse womens and mens as well a a powerhouse in womens and mens soccer. It will help recruiting and getting our football program stronger.

Not me, I am not okay with it. Money is not everything. UMCP Athletics has been run by losers since they forced Debbie Yow to leave for NC State after 16 years of service. From 1994 to 2010, the school's athletic teams captured twenty national championships, Seventeen were in women's sports. Yow Earned $365K in 2008. Today Gary Williams makes $400K as an adviser to current AD Kevin Anderson, and we know was for this switch to the Big Ten because he saw his job being eliminated in the next round of cuts. We all know Gary's hatred of Debbie made her decision to leave UMCP all but a certainty, but look at the Athletic Department now! If UMCP can't make it in athletics in the ACC (cut 7 programs this past year) how are they going to make it in the Big Ten? I don't see it working out, the pie in the sky is going be thrown right back in their faces! '87 Alumni

In these days of great fiscal restraint where the State cannot seem to "afford" anything - WHY is it spending $50 million on this???? Put those same funds to GOOD use right here in Maryland - decrease the deficit, put funds into public transportation. Obviously the University, which I'm an alumna of, has too much cash on hand - the Assembly should decrease its funding the same day it lays out this $50 mission - out of state. BOO!

This is a bad move by MD all getting back to Debbie Yow building football suites that she couldnt sell.The new clueless admin isnt capable of dealing with the debt and is looking for an easy way out. Guess what? They found it. If being in the Big 10 helps recruiting for football why isnt Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Iowa powerhouses already? MD will never be a football school. The area is just too innudated with Pro football for people to care that much. This isnt Iowa or middle of no where PA where the only game in town in the fall is college football. Basketball will suffer now because the fans dont care about playing Ohio State, Michigan or Indiana. It will take decades to build up fanatic support for these new rivalries. As someone else said the alumni will be left with this bad move as Anderson leaves for Stanford after solving all of our problems.

The root of this transaction has nothing to do with football, fans or alumni...
and the history plays to the illusion...

5 seconds ago
Everyone who is against this is not really thinking it through. 1. Money- the Big Ten TV contract will generate 80 million extra dollars over the next 10 years for MD, that is after the 50 milion payout to the ACC, which by the way will end up being less than 50 million. 2. Our basketball program will probably be a top 4 program every year in the Big 10, the only real competition will be O state, M state, and Indiana. 3. Football- it will get better because people will want to play in a serious conference like the big 10 but don't want to live in the midwest. Big 10 football is very good, it really opens us up to getting better recruits, very few high end player choose an ACC school. 4. There is a CIC research grant that the Big10 schools have, this grant hands out over a billion dollars for research each year, that means more money for MD. 5. I am a huge terps fan, but we need to stop thinking we are a real ACC rival, when Duke and UNC start their season do you think they consider MD a threat to the crown? Not a chance in hell. Let it go. We can become an east coast travel nightmare for these midwest kids who don't know about how we play ball!

From a fan/alumni perspective, it stinks to see your team loose and I just don't see UMD's football team being competitive in the Big 10. I don't think men's basketball will be very competitive either, though the women's basketball team will probably still do pretty well. I do realize this was a financial move and I hope that the athletic program benefits in the long run.

Sadness

Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State won't be playing at Byrd Stadium. Thoise games are likely to be at FedEx with sky-high ticket prices.

Stuff like this is why I stopped following college sports on anational level. It's a joke.

Do I understand why they are doing it? Sure. It's still yet another black eye for the NCAA, who has created a competitive environment that has ruined the conferences and rivalries for tens of millions of fans.

All in the name of money. Greed destroys, again

The Big 10 was obviously desperate to "even out" to 14 teams with Rutgers. The Big 10 is obviously smoking crack if they think this will cause the New Jersey and New York markets to suddenly begin watching college football. Maryland was right at home in the ACC, and its history with those ACC teams pre-dates the ACC when they, and most of the SEC, were the Southern Conference. For a flagship state school like Maryland to have to rely upon basketball as its pinnacle sport is simply pitiful. That's great if you're Georgetown or Ganzaga, but for Maryland? For football it's always going to be difficult to convince high school kids to play on a field where the stands are half empty. But there's definitely more of a fall-off for NFL caliber talent in the Big 10 (going from best teams to middle-of-the-road), so don't be shocked if Maryland's football records actually improve. As far as the traveling Big Ten fans, Maryland better plan to expand its stadium unless the impact they are looking for is to fill the 20,000 seats that are regularly empty, and, just like with the Baltimore Grand Prix, the DC hotels will appreciate our Maryland tax dollars having paid to fill their rooms. The Turkey Bowl may have a larger economic impact. On the bright-side, the lacrosse teams will be racking up conference championships left and right. But if TV money is all they're looking for then...

The move from being an eastern independent to being in the B1G was difficult for Penn Staters. We hated Pitt, guarded the Lion from Syracuse (turned out that Sue Paterno invented the threat, without telling Joe), fought over a trophy with WVU and enjoyed beating Maryland (a one-sided rivalry). We miss them but have adjusted to new rivalries (even though OSU fans tell us that it is strictly one-way). We were told that the B1G was about more than just sports, great academic and research opportunities, etc. Welcome to the B1G, Terps, the more eastern schools, the merrier.

My brother went to Duke and I can tell you that their big rivals were the other schools in the Research Triangle, not Maryland.

I probably forgot to follow the previous story. Here's the other end of it from the Penn State Daily Newswire. The B1G accepted UMd as a member beginning in 2014-2015.

1. University of Maryland to join the Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors (COP/C) announced unanimous approval Monday (Nov. 19) for the University of Maryland to join the Big Ten Conference effective July 1, 2014, with competition to begin in all sports for the 2014-15 academic year. The University of Maryland also looks forward to joining the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a consortium of world-class research institutions dedicated to advancing their academic missions.

"Today is a watershed moment for the University of Maryland," said University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh. "Membership in the Big Ten Conference is in the strategic interest of the University of Maryland."

Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/62827#nw1

Maryland will have a better connection to the Big Ten area to recruit. Not like it is here w/ Duke and North Carolina recruiters. No recruiting + the McDonald's All Americans just say there from Duke =Coach K or North Carolina = Williams.. That's where the young students want to go name recognition in the Basketball programs. .

A number of comments, with a disclaimer. I am not a UMD alum nor did I attend a B1G, school, although I am a MD resident and taxpayer. My school (GWU) gave up D1 football in the mid-'60s. I grew up hating the schools down on tobacco road. I really understand the rivalries and the passion that goes with them. My kids were born and raised in NC and the older one refused to apply to Duke, so there is a passion (further disclaimer, she graduated from UMD law). I am really concerned about this move.

1. It shows that college athletics are driven by football, no matter what the historic tradition of the school is. I'd really love to see an independent audit of the football program (extra insurance, 90+ scholarships, training table, etc.)
2. I'm dubious about the statement by the UMD President that the discontinued sports would be restored and that this was being done for academic purposes. Puhleez!
3. Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium (and this isn't done for $?) will attract alumni of the various schools, just as Rockies' fans show up at Nats' games (let's exclude Philthies Phans). It's DC. People move here from all sorts of places and bring loyalties with them.
4. The good news for UMD athletics comes in the spring. No GA Tech, UVA, Fla. State, Miami, UNC, Clemson baseball in the B1G. Who knows, the Terps may now get to Omaha in June.

A sad day indeed.

Greatest feat by the Terps basketball team: Not winning the NCAA's, but taking the ACC tournament in 2004 after finishing 7-9 in the conference, beating Wake Forest (seeded 3), NC State (2), and Duke (1), for their first ACC Tournament title in 20 years. I got chills in my spine watching John Gilchrist hold off Duke.

Of course, some of the Md-Duke games were among the best I've ever seen. Blake stealing the ball from Williams at midcourt...

Life goes on, I guess.

PROOF
Anderson arrived at Maryland from Army in October 2010. His tenure has been eventful.
He oversaw the buyout of the final season of football coach Ralph Friedgen’s contract and replaced him with Randy Edsall. He hired Texas A&M men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon to replace the retired Gary Williams.
Anderson faced the grim task this year of eliminating seven athletics teams due to budget issues that were years in the making. The teams were targeted by a university commission that studied possible remedies to the financial issues and made a series of recommendations.
In his written statement on Monday, Anderson suggested that his work at Maryland remains unfinished.
This statement could only mean one thing! More of the same, "FAILURES".
The U of MD can't compete now in the ACC due to the moves made by this fool and now they expect us to come to Byrd Stadium & Comcast Center to watch the Terps get there a%@ kicked by the Big 10 EVERY on a weekly basis!My donation STOPS today!
RIP - Curly Byrd

Perhaps with more money they can now reinstate all of the sports teams they did away with.

Agree that the move is about the money, not athletics. As a Chicago native and University of Illinois graduate, I think it is a dream that hordes of midwestern Big 10 fans will come here to see the games. It's a 14-hour drive from Chicago (i.e. Northwestern) and here. Even further for those in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. The games will draw Big 10 alumni who now live in this area, but I have doubts that they will match the ACC fans who have traditionally made the trip here. And I just can't believe that Maryland fans/alumni will drive 14-16 each way to watch Maryland play in the Midwest. This is one of those decisions - made in secret and pushed through - sorta like the gambling referendum - that people in this area will come to regret and start raising hell.

Lesson 1. Abandon old, established relationships for money
Lesson 2. Begrudge your rules.... If you don't like the penalty fee...just don't pay it.
Lesson 3. Favor the rich....expect alumni of modest means to not be able to travel to Big ten locales

Lesson 4. Pursue money for money's sake.
Lesson 5. Leave when it pleases you, rather than persevere to make things better for all.

Lesson 6. Quit when you wan't, then blame others

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