The Maryland Regents keep it to the football coach, DJ Durkin, about the president's recommendation

Several state legislators were surprised and outraged by the imminent departure of Loh.

"Simply horrible. Football should not take precedence over academics, "Del said. Erek L. Barron (Prince George's), who played football for Maryland. "Football should not lead to a decision that affects an entire university."

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), congratulated Loh for his promotion of academics, improving the donor base, which led to the construction of several new buildings on campus, and "a better job of communicating with the city than any other president I can remember."

"It leaves a good legacy," said Miller. "His sporting legacy is questioned."

To make their decision, the regents took into account the results of two external probes, both of which portrayed Durkin's checkered board. The first focused on the events surrounding the death of McNair, who suffered heat stroke during a team training session on May 29 and died 15 days later. This report was presented to the Council of Regents on September 21st and describes the mistakes made by Maryland staff members, noting that the school's athletic trainers failed to properly diagnose or treat McNair.

[Read the full Maryland football program culture report]

The second report followed allegations of abuse and intimidation, initially expressed in an ESPN article dated August 10. The next day, Loh announced an external review by a three-member commission, which would focus on the culture of the football program. A few days later, the board of governors assumed oversight of the investigation and expanded the commission to eight people, including retired federal judges Alex Williams and Ben Legg; former Maryland governor Robert Ehrlich; former NFL quarterback Doug Williams, who is now a member of the Washington Redskins leadership; and Tom McMillen, a former Maryland basketball star who served two terms in Congress.

This group spent the next eight weeks interviewing past and present players, parents and school staff. He then communicated his findings to the Regents at the regular meeting of the Board of Directors last Friday. The investigators did not find the culture of the "toxic" program, although she identified several incidents of abusive behavior or intimidation and blamed Durkin for failing to Rick Court, the coach of strength and conditioning, which players have accused repeatedly. abusive behavior and intimidation.

After receiving the report on October 19, the regents debated their options. Some had tried to separate from Durkin, Evans and Loh, while other factions were in favor of retaining the president. Still others were convinced that the three should be able to stay in their current roles.

Over the days, some regents have changed their loyalty. In his early days, Durkin lacked the support that he seemed to have as the board of directors was preparing to make a final decision.

Perhaps the biggest turning point was Friday when the board held its fourth meeting on the subject. Loh had asked for time to talk to the council. For the sake of fairness, the regents also proposed to Durkin to appear before all council members for a face-to-face discussion.

According to three people familiar with the meeting, Durkin had impressed the regents and many were convinced that he deserved to stay at his post.

"Our meeting with DJ Durkin has been very informative," said chairman James T. Brady on Tuesday. "His passion for the university, for the football team and for the players was absolutely impressive and very credible."

[Durkin returns to Maryland football team, and three players walk out of his first meeting]

Loh met separately with the same group before the arrival of Durkin. According to a person familiar with the meeting, he strongly asserted that the university needed to move on and find another football coach. This person stated that Loh did not blame the culture of the program and did not directly link Durkin's actions to McNair's death, but said that too much had happened during those two months for Durkin to effectively lead the program, evoking a potential tumult in the locker room and challenges that staff would face when recruiting. Another person familiar with the discussions said that Loh had expressed his concerns, but did not advocate for the termination of the coach.

Several people close to the situation said that it was clear to Loh that if he did not follow the instructions of the board, he would be immediately replaced by another director who would implement his recommendations.

The university system consists of 12 colleges and public institutions, but the Council of Regents is not allowed to make staff decisions on each campus. The position of the president is the only exception. The council actually asked Loh to accept his wishes regarding Durkin and Evans.

Loh had been the subject of speculation and many people close to the program criticized his decision to publicly accept "the legal and moral responsibility" for the mistakes that led to McNair's death.

"Today, I maintain this statement 100%," Loh told reporters on Tuesday. "And I will do my best to take on this responsibility."

Hassan Murphy, McNair's family lawyer, said that Loh "remains the only person to date in this process to have accepted moral and legal responsibility and to have spoken wholeheartedly about what's going on." ;has passed".

"If the university is not doing well in Jordan, we promise to explore every possible path," Murphy added.

While news of the Regents' recommendations was poorly received Tuesday afternoon, Brady defended a process that left all directors in place.

"I think it's totally inaccurate to say that nothing has happened," Brady said. "In fact, the recommendations put in place are not common on all university campuses for football programs. These are best practices at the cutting edge of technology. "

And from the suggestion that the board prioritized athletics over academics, Brady bristled.

"Absolutely wrong," he says. "Academics are the main thing that exists at College Park. That's why it exists. Athletics supports the academic mission and it is always there that we go first. I can not control how people see all these things. But I can say unequivocally that the idea that academics are not primarily at the University of Maryland is absolutely false and unequivocal. "

During his tenure, Mr. Loh appreciated the risks and marketing opportunities of intercollegiate sports. He has often referred to athletics as "university portico", which people recognize by watching college football or basketball on television. "This is not the most important part of the house," he said in 2014, "but it's the most visible."

But Loh also knew that mass sport could create big risks. He made it clear in 2017 in his remarks to the Senate of the University, a group that represents faculty and others. Someone asked Loh how he could be sure that Maryland was "protected from the corrupting influence of athletics," according to an article in the Diamondback student newspaper.

"As president, I'm sitting on a number of dormant volcanoes," Loh replied. "One of them is a sports scandal. It explodes, it explodes the university, its reputation. It makes the president explode.

Ovetta Wiggins, Nick Anderson, Susan Svrluga, Sarah Larimer, Emily Giambalvo and Roman Stubbs contributed to this report.