Mike Locksley will remain in place as Maryland’s football coach in 2026, and the school plans to significantly increase financial support for the program, athletic director Jim Smith told ESPN.
Locksley is in his eighth season with the Terps (4-6), who have lost six straight games. Maryland went 4-8 last season after winning bowl games in three consecutive seasons, which marked the longest such streak in program history.
Smith told ESPN that prioritizing retaining key players, including a star-studded freshman class, is a big part of the strategy. Smith also said Maryland needs to catch up financially to be competitive with the top teams in the Big Ten.
“We are working to strengthen our NIL support for 2026 and beyond and have already seen success for next year,” Smith told ESPN. “We are prioritizing roster retention, recruiting and competing in the transfer portal.”
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Smith said he informed Locksley and the team on Sunday. He later shared an open letter to Terp Nation.
Locksley is 37-47 in his eight seasons at Maryland. He went 1-8 in league play last season and is 1-6 this year. It would have cost more than $13 million to fire Locksley, according to his contract.
Along with the impressive run of bowl wins, Locksley has compiled a strong young nucleus on this team. That includes promising freshman quarterback Malik Washington (13 passing TDs, 4 rushing) and two productive freshman defensive ends Sidney Stewart (8.5 TFLs) and Zahir Mathis (7.0 TFLs).
Those players were a key part of a 2025 recruiting class that included seven ESPN 300 commits and was ranked No. 24 in the country by ESPN.
“We are optimistic about the young talent in our program and where we are in recruiting,” Smith told ESPN.
Smith said the available NIL money for Maryland will be significantly more than Locksley had to work with in 2025.
“Everyone involved with the football program is focused on giving Coach Locksley the resources to succeed in the Big Ten,” Smith said.
Maryland’s decision comes soon after Wisconsin made a similar announcement about coach Luke Fickell, whose team is struggling through a second straight losing season.
Maryland started the year 4-0, including a dominating 27-10 win at Wisconsin to open the Big Ten schedule. From there, the Terrapins lost three consecutive one-score games, including squandering a 20-0 third-quarter lead against Washington. Maryland lost to Indiana, Rutgers and Illinois in its past three games.
Maryland plays seven home games in 2026, including five Big Ten games at home and a nonconference schedule of Hampton and Virginia Tech at home and UConn on the road.
