Maryland Athletics - University of Maryland Official Athletic Site

Maryland Unveils Terrapin Club Stairway of Champions Banners commemorate national championships

Feb. 24, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland Athletics Department will unveil the Terrapin Club Stairway of Champions, director of athletics Deborah A. Yow announced today.

The Stairway of Champions consists of 12 banners featuring eight of Maryland's national championship teams. The stairway is located on the grand staircase on the south side of the Comcast Center.

"The Terrapin Club Stairway of Champions is a great way to showcase the accomplishments of our student-athletes and to recognize our national-championship teams," said Brian Ullmann, associate athletics director for external operations. "We're proud of our great athletics successes at Maryland and have worked with the Terrapin Club to commemorate these champions."

The banners honor Maryland teams that have won national titles:

Maryland's tradition of winning national championships began with football. Under the guidance of head coach Jim Tatum, the Terrapins won their first national championship in 1953 in a record of 10-1.

Head coach Gary Williams' men's basketball team captured the 2002 NCAA title and finished the season with a 32-4 record, the best winning percentage in school history (.889).

Under head coach Brenda Frese and a talented group of young players, the Maryland women's basketball team won the 2006 NCAA championship and finished the year ranked number one in the nation for the first time in the program's history.

Finishing with a 19-4-2 record, head coach Sasho Cirovski led the men's soccer team to the NCAA national title in 2005.

Maryland owns a pair of NCAA titles in men's lacrosse, having won the tournament in 1973 after capping a perfect season and also winning in 1975.

Women's lacrosse has a total of nine NCAA national championships. The first title was won in 1986 and a title in 1992 was followed by seven consecutive titles from 1995-2001.

In only its third year as a varsity sport, an undefeated season for the competitive cheer team was capped off with a 2006 NCA all-girl national championship.

Head field hockey coach Missy Meharg led Maryland to back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2005 and 2006.

The Terrapin Club is composed of alumni, friends and fans of University of Maryland Athletics. As the fund-raising arm of the athletic department, the Terrapin Club is composed of approximately 8,500 members who contribute money annually to help pay the scholarship bill for Maryland's student athletes. The stairway proves the Terrapin Club slogan that Championships Begin With Scholarships.