Through the generosity of Maryland alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends, the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund secures private support to give students a world-class education coupled with an opportunity to compete at the highest level of college athletics.  Most importantly, the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund is charged with raising the funds required to cover the cost of athletic scholarships for Maryland students on varsity athletic teams.  For the upcoming academic year, the Terps anticipate total cost of scholarships for students competing on varsity teams will be approximately $13 million.

In addition to scholarship support, Maryland Athletics also secures private gifts to ensure coaches and students have the best resources necessary to produce excellence both in the classroom and in competition.  Such resources include new or renovated athletic facilities (like the New Cole Field House project), new equipment, travel expenses, strength and conditioning, nutrition, sports medicine, and academic support.  Donors who make charitable gifts in support of Maryland Athletics receive a variety of benefits including access to the best tickets and parking at Maryland home games, access to tickets for post-season competitions, invitations to special hospitality events and opportunities for name recognition around the athletic facilities.

Philanthropic support for Maryland Athletics over the past fiscal year has been especially generous.  Year to date, the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund welcomed over 900 new donors, while an additional 1100 athletics donors increased their annual gift above what they had given the prior year.  In total, over 7,600 Terps fans made annual gifts of various sizes throughout the year.

To date, Maryland Athletics has received approximately $40 million in new commitments (pledges to be paid over the next 5 years) for various athletics priorities, and has accepted over $18 million in cash gifts and pledge payments this year.  The Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund now has 41 donors in its Director’s Circle giving level – people who give $25,000 annually to fund one full athletic scholarship (up from 35 Director’s Circle donors last year).  Further, Maryland Athletics donors generously made 30 new major gift commitments ($50K or more over the next 5 years), including four new commitments of $1 million or more.

The Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund staff is incredibly grateful for the overwhelming generosity from its 7,600+ donors over the past fiscal year.  The many exciting moments our students experienced in 2014-15 simply would not have happened without that support.  The Maryland coaches, staff and students thank all of the donors, and look forward to celebrating many more Terrapin student accomplishments throughout the 2015-16 academic year.