Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum
During his tenure at Maryland, Tatum became one of the most successful head football coaches in school history. In nine seasons, he led the Terrapins to two national championships, three conference championships, and five bowl game appearances. His teams compiled a 73–15–4 record without a single losing season. To date, he remains the winningest Maryland football coach of the modern era with a winning percentage of 0.819.
Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum
After the 1955 season, Tatum took an 18% pay cut, from $18,500 to $15,000 (from $ to $ in inflation-adjusted terms), to return to North Carolina as head coach. There, "The Daily Tar Heel" student newspaper was displeased to see Tatum arrive and called him a "parasitic monster of open professionalism." After a few years, however, he was accepted by the student body, the faculty, and alumni. Tatum had said, "I'm going back to North Carolina to die," and the statement proved prescient. Just four years later, in 1959, he died of Rocky Mountain spotted fever at the age of 46.