Maryland Lacrosse Schedule: The New Normal

PROGRAM SCHEDULE PROPAGANDA: UNRELEASED
THIS IS WHY WE FIGHT: THE SCHEDULE

Here are some schedule highlights and games of note:

Two-Thirds of a Century, Erased
March 21: v. North Carolina

There are lots of considerations that go into conference realignment, and given Maryland's dire financial predicament before the Big Ten decided that the Terrapins could solicit on behalf of the league's television network, it's not all that surprising that Maryland was willing to ignore a major consideration -- the continuity of decades of history -- in order to achieve other goals. Yet, it's almost impossible to understand how the Terps will play its first season of lacrosse since 1951 -- nineteen fifty-one! -- without at least two founding members of the ACC on its regular season schedule. (The ACC was formed in 1953, but Maryland played would-be ACC members prior to the league's realization.) That's insane: It has been almost two-thirds of a century since the Terrapins have had a regular season slate that didn't contain at least two founding ACC members; people have gone their entire lives without knowing a Maryland lacrosse slate that didn't maintain at least two of the ACC's core members.

Let's try and put this into perspective:

• Maryland has met Duke 82 times in the Terps' history, holding a 62-20 record against the Devils. Maryland once held a 28-game winning streak against Duke and the Blue Devils longest winning streak against the Terps was only three games. In Duke's greatest decade -- the 2010's, an era in which the Devils have won three national titles -- Maryland held a 7-2 edge over their peers from Durham. Maryland has only played Johns Hopkins (104), Virginia (91), and Navy (88) more than Duke in the program's history. Games against the Devils account for around eight percent of the 1,021 games that the Terrapins have played as a program. The two teams will not play during the 2015 regular season.
• Maryland has met North Carolina 63 times in the Terps' history, holding a 39-24 record against the Tar Heels. After dominating the series in the 2000's (Maryland held a 10-2 advantage), Carolina has reversed course on the series holding a 6-2 edge in the 2010's. The Terrapins' series with the Tar Heels ranks as the sixth most played opponent in Maryland's history. Games against the Heels account for around six percent of the 1,021 games that the Terrapins have played as a program.
• Maryland has met Virginia 91 times in the Terps' history, with a razor-thin 47-44 advantage accruing to the Terps. No team has won more than eight games in a row against the other in the seires and the Terrapins haven't been on the positive side of a decade-long series result against the Cavs since the 1970's. Maryland and Virginia have met six times in the NCAA Tournament with the postseason series split 3-3 (the teams have met on Championship Weekend twice -- in 2003 and 2011). The Maryland-Virginia series is only 13 games shorter than the Maryland-Johns Hopkins series. Games against the 'Hoos account for around nine percent of the 1,021 games that the Terrapins have played as a program. The two teams will not meet during the 2015 regular season.

When you total it all up, Maryland's series against Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia account for almost a quarter of the Terps' lacrosse existence. Maryland has seen these programs 238 games since 1926 (the first season that Maryland played a program from this trio of schools), vital dates for a school that has one of the richest lacrosse traditions in all of the NCAA. And it has been eviscerated.

The Next Two-Thirds of a Century, Realized
March 29: Michigan; April 4: Penn State; April 12: at Rutgers; April 18: at Ohio State; April 26: Johns Hopkins

Maryland has played these teams 161 times in the Terps' history -- games against these opponents account for around 16 percent of the total games that Maryland has played -- but if you eliminate the 104 games that the Terrapins have played against the Blue Jays, the Terps have played true Big Ten opponents 57 times, or six times fewer than the number of times that Maryland has played its least frequent founding member of the ACC -- North Carolina. (Maryland has never played Michigan Maryland is 1-0 against Michigan, is 4-0 against Ohio State, is 29-0 against Penn State, and is 23-1 against Rutgers.) The Terps have a long way to go with four new friends to match what the program had with three former pals.