WASHINGTON — A 200-page report commissioned by the University of Maryland and the University System Board of Regents has found that the culture inside the football program at College Park is not what should be considered “toxic,” according to multiple people who are familiar with the report.
The committee that wrote up the report conducted over 150 interviews in a span of more than two months. The report makes some recommendations that have more to do with the athletic department as a whole. It does not make any recommendations about personnel, and takes no stance on whether any employees should be fired or retained.
The report, given to the Board of Regents on Oct. 19, was discussed at the regularly scheduled Board of Regents meeting in Hagerstown, Maryland, that day, and again at a special meeting this past Tuesday.
The contents of the report and how the school should move forward will continue to be discussed Thursday afternoon on a closed conference call among board members.
The way the Board of Regents is structured, it only has the power to hire and fire university presidents. The employment status of anyone else, whether it’s in athletics or academic departments, is otherwise determined by the leadership of the schools themselves. However after taking control of the investigation from University of Maryland president Wallace Loh back in August, the board appears set to make recommendations it expects to go forward.
A source said at the end of Tuesday’s meeting, a majority of the board was in favor of seeing the school move on from both football coach DJ Durkin and athletic director Damon Evans. How that will come about — and at what cost — still needs to be worked out.
It also still appears that University of Maryland President Wallace Loh will eventually be departing as well. However, at the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting, his exit from the school wasn’t expected to be imminent. A source says a plan could be worked out that would see Loh step down in the spring of 2019.
