AD Jim Smith on whether an Indiana-like ascension is possible at Maryland, fundraising efforts

Ahmed Ghafir
Nov 14
4 min read

Maryland AD Jim Smith joined 105.7 this week to recap all the latest around Maryland Athletics, but of course, the biggest question with fall sports winding down surrounds its revenue program wrapping up its 2025 season as head coach Mike Locksley and Maryland football look to bounce back for a surprise road win against Illinois this week. But one week after dropping below .500 in a 35-20 loss vs. Rutgers, the biggest question for fans is where the program stands long-term after Locksley noted Maryland and Rutgers on similar footing.

The question is – is an Indiana-like ascension possible in College Park? And if so, how?

“It’s a great question and I think if we're going to look - everybody's going to look at Indiana as a program to model after. And I think when you really do the research and peel back how Indiana did it, they started four years ago and really started making investments into the program and then gained a little momentum. It caught a little bit of lightning in a bottle and then everything's been flowing from there. And I think that's where I certainly believe that's where Maryland can be. The beautiful part is we're in the DMV so we have the athletes already here that and they want to play here. They want to stay here. So we've got to give the rest of the package to our coaches, into our football program, which is, when I say the rest of the package, I mean resources. And we've got to all come to the table. I do. I always hit you up for NIL or earlier this year. We've all got to do this together. It's not just a one-man show and putting everything on the one guy to say, hey, he's got to do it all. The organization, meaning the department's got to contribute, the university has to contribute, and all our fans have to be a part of this success that we're going to have here at Maryland.”

After also getting pushback on the lack of wins as cause for an uphill fight when it comes to NIL and fundraising, Smith agreed it’s a dilemma “but it’s a solvable one.”

“Where does all that money come from? It comes from the people who believe that they want their flagship school to be successful in their state. And I think that's where Ohio State started - if Indiana started four years ago, Ohio State started seven years ago. And so there is a little bit of a runway here and we are in - I've been here four and a half months, and so from my perspective, we're in year one of this new era of college football. And so we're building towards it. And I'm not going to say we don't have people who aren't that. We have people who are stepping up for this program, and they're stepping up, starting with our efforts to retain the players that we have and recruit in new players. So I actually - I know it's going to sound crazy because you're just going to say I'm trying to spin it a certain way - I actually feel really good about where we are going into next year. We got a solid foundation and I know what we have to work with, which is much different than what Locks and the group had to work with last year.”

More from Smith on his latest appearance:

On Maryland men’s soccer’s opening round Big Ten Tournament loss

“We're definitely going to be in the tournament. We're going to be hosting. We were the number one team in the country going into that one so you can't go from number one to being out - even in college sports, you can't go from number one to being out. We're gonna [make it], and we feel really confident we're gonna be hosting another home game. It'll be another huge crowd. And I know the guys will it's their first loss of the year. I know they're angry, and they'll be ready to go when we host in ten days or so.”

On Buzz Williams’ start at Maryland, return to Marquette

“I think it’s all business with Buzz. I feel very confident that the guys are going to be ready to play and they're not even going to know Buzz coached there. And what you said is very true about wherever you go with Buzz in that you're going to have a great record, you're going to have people who really like him, and he's going to go in there and he's not going to be thinking about anything, but that game on that day in the Maryland uniform.”

How fundraising efforts are going, how it will improve

“Well, I think it's actually there's good momentum here at Maryland. I think we just launched a massive campaign. People definitely believe in the university and what it means to the community, to the state. And I believe that there's a number of people who can feel and understand kind of how I'm outlining what we need to do over the next three years to get this program to where Vinnie mentioned those other schools. That's where we want to aspire to be. Now, I don't think you need to have the most money to be successful long-term. You have to have smart money and you have to invest it right. And Vinnie knows it because he's managed the salary cap before in professional sports. If all the money is the same, then it comes down to the talent of the people managing the cap. Now, all the money isn't the same, but it is more common amongst the majority of the schools out there than most people think.”

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