Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum
From 1947 to 1955, Jim Tatum served as the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team, which represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football. Maryland hired Tatum to replace Clark Shaughnessy after the 1946 season. Tatum had created both success and controversy during his one season as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners football team. During his nine-year tenure, Tatum became one of the most successful head football coaches in Maryland history, and the Terrapins compiled two national championships, three conference championships, and five bowl game appearances. His teams compiled a 73–15–4 record without a single losing season, and as of the end of 2016, he has the highest winning percentage of any Maryland football coach who coached at least seven games. In 1954, the University of Maryland appointed a new president, Dr. Wilson Elkins, who chose to de-emphasize football. Following the 1955 season, Tatum took a pay cut to coach at his alma mater, North Carolina, and he died four years later.
North Carolina Tar Heels football
Jim Tatum served two stints as head football coach at his alma mater. He enlisted in the Navy for World War II and left the team but returned in 1956. His overall record at UNC is 19–17–3. George T. Barclay, another UNC alum, was promoted from assistant coach to head coach following Snavely's second departure. Barclay struggled as UNC's head football coach, posting an 11–18–1 record in his three seasons before resigning. The most notable part of Barclay's tenure is that the Tar Heels helped charter the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports in 1953. Tatum was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1984, primarily for his tenure as head football coach at Maryland. Tatum died unexpectedly in the summer of 1958 from a rickettsial disease.