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
In addition to his team's success on the gridiron, Tatum caused controversy. Buddy Burris, the first three-time All-American at Oklahoma, said, "Jim Tatum was a con-man, a dictator, a tyrant, and one hell of a football coach." Tatum greatly surpassed his allocated budget and linked players with sponsors who sometimes paid or bought clothes for their sponsored players. After a 34–13 Gator Bowl victory over N.C. State, University of Oklahoma president George Cross discovered that Tatum had paid the fifty Sooners players $120 each ($, adjusted for inflation). Cross had explicitly warned Tatum not to do so, as it was a violation of conference rules. With further investigation, it was discovered that $60,000 ($ in inflation-adjusted terms) was unaccounted for in the athletic department budget, which resulted in the relief of athletic director Jap Haskell.