In 1953 the University of Maryland become one the 6 founding members of the Atlantic Coast Conference or ACC. Over the years the Terps built a national program in not just the revenue sports like football and basketball but also the non-revenue sports like lacrosse and soccer.

Over the years Maryland basketball was part of the two biggest and most hated rivalries in all of college sports in Duke and North Carolina and in particular Duke basketball, with some saying it was the biggest rivalry in the history of college basketball.

As a Maryland fan, I looked forward to trash talking with the UNC and Duke fans year around, as in my case, my father was a diehard Duke fan, so family dinners were always fun for me. They had a border war with Virginia which was deeply rooted in the recruiting wars, so being in the ACC was not only historic, but it was important on a local level as the Terps and Cavaliers defended the home turf.

All that changed that faithful day of July 1, 2014, as the President of the University of Maryland President Wallace Loh made the announcement that no Maryland fan ever thought they would hear and that was that Maryland was leaving the ACC and joining the Big 10 conference.

Me personally, I was in shock and disbelief, as I had to grasp the concept of the Terps leaving the only conference and most notable and well known conference that most fans only associated Maryland being a member of. What would happen to the Maryland-UNC rivalry and more importantly the Maryland-Duke rivalry?. Who would be the Terps new arch enemy?. With all of the Big 10 teams being in the midwest part of the Country?. how would fans travel to the games?. Of course the move was about money and I cant blame the university for the aspect of there decision. But, it still stung all the Terps faithful.

Now, lets fast forward to July 1, 2024 and see how the Terps have done since joining the Big 10 conference.

10 years ago today, we joined the @bigten! Since:

6 National Championships
49 Big Ten Titles
67 NCAA Tournament Appearances
75 Individual NCAA Championship Appearances

Celebrate with us throughout July!

— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) July 1, 2024

Maryland has certainly made those presence felt since they entered the Big 10 conference. Since joining the Big 10 in 2014 the Terps have claimed 49 Big 10 conference titles in all sports, which ranks 3rd behind Ohio State and Michigan in the number of titles won since 2014. Here is a full list of the accomplishments the Terps have achieved since joining the Big 10.

As a Maryland fan, it was quite a change in terms of knowing about all the teams in the Big 10, as we all knew all about the Duke’s, UNC’s, Virginia’s, etc. This was not only in football and basketball, but the non-revenue sports as well.

But, as I sit here right now, I think it was a good decision for the athletic department as a whole. The Terps have elevated the non-revenue sports such as lacrosse and field hockey, they have made the conference in basketball a much stronger conference, as the Maryland women’s basketball team set a high bar since joining the league and the Maryland football program is one to reckon with as the Big 10 has been a powerhouse football conference for many years.

Speaking for myself, I think I have found who I love to hate in Penn State and Michigan, the football rivlary with Penn State is on another level and this has become a recruiting war, so we now have our border war the Nittany Lions.

The Michigan basketball thing, is on a crazy level because of things that have happened over the last several years. Such as the incident with head coaches Mark Turgeon and Juwan Howard and the whole Hunter Dickenson saga and his recruitment.

So, with the addition this year of the 4 west coast schools, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to the Big 10 conference, there is no question that the Big 10 is the most competitive conference in college sports and it feels kind of good that the Terps are once again in the best conference in the Country.

Happy Anniversary Terps!!!!!