2017 Maryland Terrapins football team
The 2017 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Terrapins played their home games at Maryland Stadium in College Park, Maryland and competed in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Maryland celebrated their 125th anniversary of the program that was established in 1892, when the University of Maryland, College Park was still known as the Maryland Agricultural College. They were led by second-year head coach D.J. Durkin. They finished the season 4–8, 2–7 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the East Division.
Joe F. Blair
In 1950, the University of Maryland hired Blair as its sports information director. "The Washington Post" credited him with publicizing the 1953 Maryland Terrapins football team with the voters for national championship selection, many of whom were unable to see the team firsthand. In 1962, Blair left Maryland to work for the Washington Redskins as the club's publicity director. Blair returned to the University of Maryland in 1983 as an assistant sports information director for Jack Zane. The Atlantic Coast Conference honored Blair with the Marvin "Skeeter" Francis Award for service in 1993. Blair developed a reputation for being protective of Maryland's players. He persuaded senior quarterback John Kaleo to speak to the media for the first time a week before the season. According to Blair, "The kid had never played a full game at Maryland ... I said, 'Look, son, if you play a bad game, these reporters are going to destroy you. You better go out and make as many friends as you can, in case you don't become a star.'"