Maryland hires Jim Smith from Atlanta Braves as Terrapins' athletic director
Maryland hires Jim Smith from Atlanta Braves as Terrapins' athletic director
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Coach Willard reacts to Derik Queen's first-ever game-winner
Maryland head coach Kevin Willard was shocked to find out this was the first game-winner of Derik Queen's career
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Maryland has hired Jim Smith as its next athletic director, the university announced Thursday, offering some stability to an athletic department that weathered several high-profile departures this spring.
Smith joins the Terrapins from Major League Baseball, where he has been the Atlanta Braves' senior vice president for business strategy since 2020.
Previously, he held several different executive roles with the Atlanta Falcons, including as chief marketing officer and revenue office vice president, and was the general manager and vice president of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from 2000-04.
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He has college experience as well, having served as the associate athletic director for marketing and communications at Ohio State.
Maryland leadership prioritized candidates with experience in revenue generation, according to ESPN.
'As college athletics rapidly evolves, Jim brings valuable administrative and business experience, plus the energy, vision and passion to lead our athletics program to new levels of success and impact,' Maryland president Darryll Pines said in a statement.
Smith replaces Damon Evans, who left the Terrapins in March to become the new athletic director at SMU.
Evans' departure came at a busy and awkward time for Maryland. The school's men's basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years, but it did so as its coach, Kevin Willard, publicly lamented the university's financial commitment to its men's basketball program while he was being linked to the opening at Villanova, a job he ultimately accepted shortly after the Terrapins lost to eventual national champion Florida in the regional semifinals.
With Colleen Sorem serving as Maryland's interim athletic director, the university hired Buzz Williams to replace Willard.
'It is a great honor to be chosen to lead the athletics department at the University of Maryland and to guide UMD's storied programs into the next era,' Smith said in a statement. 'I am highly motivated to build upon excellence and lead Maryland forward in a dynamic and pivotal time for intercollegiate athletics, with a sharp focus on student-athlete health, well-being and academic success.'
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