Maryland to keep coach Mike Locksley and boost NIL, AD says

Mike Locksley will remain in place as Maryland's football coach in 2026 and the school plans to significantly increase financial support to the program, athletic director Jim Smith told ESPN.

Locksley is in his eighth season with the Terps (4-6), who are amid a six-game losing streak. 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 big part of the strategy. Smith also acknowledges that Maryland needs to catch up financially to be competitive with the top of 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."

Smith informed Locksley today and is informing the team of this decision as part of the effort to begin retention.

Locksley is 37-47 in his eight seasons at Maryland and 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, per his contract.

Along with the impressive run of three bowl wins, Locksley has compiled a strong young nucleus on this team. That includes promising freshman quarterback Malik Washington (13 passing touchdowns and four 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 2025 recruiting class that ESPN ranked No. 24 in the country and it included seven ESPN 300 commits.

"We are optimistic about the young talent in our program and where we are in recruiting," Smith told ESPN.

In terms of increased support for the program, Smith predicts the available NIL 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, who is amid back-to-back losing seasons. The trend of avoiding this volatile coaching carousel cycle and focusing on internal improvement appears to be developing.

Maryland started the year 4-0, including a dominating 27-10 win at Wisconsin to open the Big Ten schedule. From there, the Terps lost three consecutive one-score games, including squandering a 20-0 third-quarter lead against Washington. Since the three one-score losses, Maryland has endured losses to Indiana, at Rutgers and at Illinois.

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