Terrapins seek their place

Maryland finds itself at a crossroads as the college football arms race escalates

When the Maryland football team visits Duke on Saturday, the Terrapins will find themselves underdogs against the longtime doormat of the ACC. As the Terrapins look to salvage a disappointing season, questions persist about the team's quarterback situation and, more importantly, about the job security of ninth-year Coach Ralph Friedgen.

But the answers to each of the specific questions surrounding the program hinge on one basic issue: What are realistic aspirations for Maryland in modern-day college football?

Friedgen said this week that he maintains the same aspirations that he had upon his arrival in 2001: consistent top 25 finishes.

"I want to do that, and I want to do that every year on a consistent basis," Friedgen said. "I won one national championship [in 1990 as a Georgia Tech assistant], and I think if you can do it on a consistent basis, every now and then all the stars will line up in the same direction, you've got a chance if things fall right for you. We have a ways to go, but that is what we are striving to do."

That's a considerable challenge for a program that has struggled to win consistently through most of its 118-year existence. Friedgen is the only coach in school history to post back-to-back 10-win seasons, but after investing millions of dollars to pay Friedgen a competitive salary and renovate six-decade-old Byrd Stadium, school officials are growing concerned with the lack of returns, competitively and financially.

Maryland lacks the storied tradition, vast revenue streams and inherent recruiting advantages possessed by the nation's elite programs -- such as Southern California, Florida and Ohio State. But in this decade, state universities such as Maryland and Rutgers and private universities such as Wake Forest have demonstrated that it's possible to rise from mediocrity and compete with the nation's elite, at least for one season. But remaining on par with college football's upper echelon has proven far more difficult -- and costly.

Athletic Director Debbie Yow is concerned with the lack of success on the field as well as with diminishing attendance at home games, according to sources close to Friedgen and the program. When asked about Friedgen's job security, Yow, who declined to be interviewed for this story, said three weeks ago that she would evaluate the "status of the program after we play the entire season."

Few decisions in big-time college football are without significant financial considerations. If Maryland wanted a new head coach next season, the school would have to pay the more than $4 million Friedgen is owed for the remaining two years of his contract and the $1 million offensive coordinator James Franklin is guaranteed if he does not become head coach after the 2011 season -- to say nothing of the multimillion dollar contract needed to hire a new head coach.

At some football powerhouses, particularly those with fervent fan bases found in the Southeastern Conference, for example, large buyouts don't deter schools from making coaching changes. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Tennessee supporters donated $4 million in just two days in August for the upcoming football season.

Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, who won two SEC titles and a national championship in 1998, received a $6 million buyout that was to be paid out from $7 million the school had in cash reserves. What's more, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported that Fulmer would continue to receive a dealer-provided car for the four-year term of his buyout.

Auburn is paying former coach Tommy Tuberville, who won 42 games the previous four seasons before being forced out after a 5-7 season in 2008, $5.1 million not to coach. In 2004, he led the Tigers to a 13-0 record and their first SEC title in 15 years. Lacking such quantities of ardent deep-pocketed boosters, Maryland must decide -- whether the subject is coaching changes or facilities upgrades -- what price it's willing to pay to compete in college football.

Keeping financial score

Those trying to keep score at college football's top levels need to concern themselves with dollars and cents more than touchdowns and field goals. Doug Toma, an associate professor at the University of Georgia's Institute of Higher Education, believes there is more separation than ever between top programs and other schools within the same conference because of a disparity in dollars.