Terps’ new AD wants to shake up schedule

Georgetown and Maryland have scheduled one men’s basketball game in the past three decades.

Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson would like to change that.

Anderson said Tuesday he is pursuing at least a two-game series between the Terrapins and the Hoyas as part of a larger push to provide Maryland fans with more appealing nonconference games.

“Lee Reed, the athletic director at Georgetown, is a very good friend of mine,” Anderson said. “We’ve talked about renewing that series and doing a home-and-home series. We’re in a serious conversation now.”

Reed could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Terps lead the series with the Hoyas 36-26, but the teams have played just three times in the past 31 seasons. One meeting was in the postseason — a Maryland victory in the 2001 NCAA regional semifinals in Anaheim, Calif. — and another was a Georgetown triumph in November 2008 in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla.

The lone scheduled meeting was the Terps’ 1993-94 season opener at the since-demolished USAir Arena, when Maryland (behind freshman Joe Smith) pulled an 84-83 overtime upset of Othella Harrington-led Georgetown on the Hoyas’ home court.

Anderson’s scheduling aspirations aren’t confined to basketball.

Maryland’s football program averaged 39,168 in six dates at Byrd Stadium last season, its smallest season average since 2000. While the Terps were coming off a 2-10 season, part of the woes stemmed from an underwhelming home schedule.

Before the regular season’s last two weeks, Maryland’s only home games were against Morgan State, Florida International and struggling conference foes Duke and Wake Forest.

While the conference combination was in part bad luck — Duke and Wake Forest visit College Park in the same season once every 10 years based on the ACC’s current schedule rotation — Maryland controls its nonconference schedule.

The Terps have agreements to bring Notre Dame (2011) and Texas (2018) to FedEx Field in Landover this decade, and also resumed their series with West Virginia last fall after a two-year hiatus. However, Anderson would like to see more high-profile programs visit Byrd in the years to come.

“I believe that in the future, we’ll have Oklahoma come in here and play a home-and-home football game with them,” Anderson said. “There’s opportunities with Missouri. We’ve talked with Wisconsin and we’re trying to make the dates work there.”

Anderson said he also has talked with Brigham Young and Central Florida about possible games. Regardless of who the Terps attempt to add, it could be a while before a new high-profile visitor comes to College Park. Because of existing contracts, Anderson said his discussions have centered on 2015 and beyond.

“It’s not just idle chat, it’s of a serious nature,” Anderson said. “I believe if we can make dates work, those will be the schools we’ll be bringing in. The challenge for me is in games that will be coming up in the next couple years because we don’t have a lot of interchange. They’re going have to be home games. Just getting someone to come in here and play a home game will be challenging.”

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