E-Newsletters

Dear M Club Members,

Yesterday, I officially responded to the President’s Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. I regretfully accepted all four recommendations of the Commission, as well as the athletic director’s recommendation to allow teams to engage in fundraising efforts to save their programs. These were not easy decisions, and they were made only after careful consideration of the facts and after reviewing the responses from the athletic department, University Senate Executive Committee, Athletic Council, and the M Club.

I very much appreciate the response I received from Marjorie Baker on your behalf. Her letter in support of our student-athletes was thoughtful and helpful. As I drafted my own response to the Commission’s recommendations, I inadvertently confused the M Club’s support for fundraising efforts to save teams as an acceptance that the team reductions were the correct course of action. I apologize for the miscommunication. I have asked that my letter and my official response be revised to more accurately reflect the M Club’s position. Also, the full response from Marjorie and the M Club is posted on the website.

Your generous pledge of $1 million is a truly astounding show of support for our student-athletes, and I hope that it inspires even more giving for these teams.

Sincerely,

Wallace D. Loh
President, University of Maryland

Hello M Club,

On Monday November 21, 2011, President Loh released his response to the recommendations made by the President’s Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. Prior to the release of this statement, I had the opportunity to meet on behalf of the M Club with Athletic Director Kevin Anderson, the M Club Board, the Athletic Council and President Loh. I had very candid discussions with each of them about the decisions that were upcoming (and further released last week and this week) as well as possible solutions.

The first recommendation set forth in this report was to “Reduce expenses by reducing the number of teams and the cost of administration.” According to the original response by President Loh, it was stated that the M Club “endorsed” this recommendation. Please know that the M Club did not support or endorse this decision to cut sports. In fact, we officially stated in writing that our priority was to save all sports programs. Below is a part of the written feedback that M Club gave to President Loh:

“In summary, the M Club feels that our primary priority should be to finding ways to save these teams from being cut. The M Club thinks that cutting sports could hurt future Terrapin recruiting efforts because athletes of non-revenue sports may be worried about committing to the University of Maryland should teams face similar concerns in the future.”

The M Club’s complete written feedback is posted along with President Loh’s response on umterps.com. I truly want to apologize to all of you, our M Club members, that the original release of President Loh’s response said that we “endorsed” this decision. We are sorry it was not corrected in the press release or press conference as I was told it would be.

Ideally, we all would like for these sports programs not to be cut. Unfortunately, the final decision was based on a bottom-line budget that needed to be balanced. Therefore, in response to the decision made by President Loh, the M Club wants to ensure that these teams raise enough money to guarantee their continuation after June 30, 2012.

Our Athletic Director Kevin Anderson proposed to President Loh a fundraising plan to try to save these teams. In this plan, there would be two phases. First, that the teams raise enough money to sustain themselves for eight years. This would be enough time for the Athletic Department to climb out of the “red” and into the positive numbers. The second phase would be to endow these teams so that future cuts would not be an issue. This is no small task. These teams are looking at raising $4-7 million dollars each before the end of the 2011-2012 school year in order to accomplish this goal.

The M Club wants to lead in this effort and will donate $1 million dollars toward fundraising that will save all of these teams from being cut. We can’t think of a better way to show that we all are truly devoted to our mission of “Athletes helping Athletes.” However, the M Club feels strongly that it should not be up to each team to face this task alone. We want these teams to know that all sports, even the ones not facing the cut, truly care about each other. We want student athletes from all sports to have the same positive, life-enriching experiences that we had while attending the University of Maryland.

The M Club challenges you to rally behind these teams and to donate any amount you can to save our sports. Please contact your “Friends of” groups, past teammates, family members, alumni, friends and longtime Terp supporters. Together we can pull together and show our support for our fellow Terrapins in need! Go Terps!

Sincerely,

Marjorie Bollinger Baker '02
M Club President, Cross Country/Track

Any time I talk to current and former student athletes from the University of Maryland College Park, I hear one repeating theme: that they loved their experience at Maryland because of their athletic team. I am no different. I am a women’s cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track alumna. In fact, I still keep in touch with the women that I competed with and love reminiscing about our days running in a “Flying T” formation around the track.

My name is Marjorie Bollinger Baker and I am the current M Club President. My role at the University of Maryland may have changed from student athlete to alumna, but my heart still beats, and will always beat, with that intangible Terrapin spirit that is founded upon by being a student athlete. I am, and you are, a Terp For Life!

I’m sure you all have heard and read that the President’s Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics released four recommendations to help resolve their budget crisis. This report was released on Monday, Nov. 14. If you have not already seen it, please visit www.umterps.com, to read the report in its entirety. Sadly, one of these recommendations was to cut six programs at Maryland, including men’s cross-country, indoor and outdoor track; men’s swimming and diving; men’s tennis; women’s acrobatics and tumbling; women’s swimming and diving; and women’s water polo. The Athletic Department is also saddened by this, but we as a University are forced to make tough decisions to address the challenges our current environment presents.

Upon hearing this news, you flooded our voicemails and inboxes with cries of help. Please know the M Club has heard you. Our club was founded in 1923 with the mission of “Athletes Helping Athletes.” And on Tuesday evening, at our board meeting, we unanimously decided that our primary goal was to help support any Save the Sports initiative that may become necessary pending Dr. Loh’s final decision.
Currently the UMD Athletic Department is working to support those sports that have been recommended for elimination in any fundraising initiatives that may become necessary.

The M Club wants all of our current student athletes as well as our alumni athletes to know that we do not want these teams to face this task alone. We want all sports to know that we as an a collective Terrapin nation are truly “Athletes Helping Athletes.” We want student athletes from all sports to have the same positive, life-enriching experiences that we had while attending the University of Maryland.
Very shortly we hope to have a plan in place to help all teams that we currently cheer for here at the University of Maryland survive this difficult situation. Once our plan is place we will contact all of our membership to enlist your help to continue being “Athletes helping Athletes.”

Together we can pull together and show our support for our fellow Terrapins in need!

Go Terps!

Marjorie Bollinger Baker '02
M Club President, Cross Country/Track

There is no better time than now to renew your membership or to make a donation to the M Club. Play an active role in the M Club’s tradition of “Athletes Helping Athletes.”

Benefits of M Club membership include:

• Staying connected with teammates and fellow letter winners
  
• Subscriptions to Terrapin Times and M Club newsletters
  
• Discounts at the Terrapin Team Shop and Campus Bookstore
  
• Exclusive networking events
  
• Providing direct support to current student-athletes and coaches
  
• Opportunities to provide career development assistance to current student-athletes

Click here to renew your membership today.

Should you have any questions about M Club membership, donations, or are looking to reconnect, please contact the M Club office at (301) 314-2619 or by email at mclub@umd.edu.