Maryland to change Byrd Stadium to Maryland Stadium
Maryland’s board of regents has voted to change the name of Byrd Stadium.
The board voted 12-5 Friday to change the name to Maryland Stadium. Byrd Stadium has been named for Harry Clifton Byrd, a former football player at the school and later a school president.
Byrd’s name on the stadium was controversial because he supported racial segregation in his time as school president. Byrd was the school’s president from 1936-1954 after serving as the school’s football and baseball coaches.
Here is an excerpt of a letter from Maryland president Wallace Loh from the Washington Post:
“For some African-Americans and other people of color, the name ‘Byrd stadium’ conveys a racial message hidden in plain sight,” Loh wrote in a letter to the board, noting that the 2015 freshman class represented the most diverse in the school’s history, with 25 percent being black and Hispanic. “Yet, we know that these dramatic changes have not eliminated racial tensions. Today’s progress cannot fully undo memories of yesterday’s wrongs.”
The Post also said both of Maryland’s U.S. senators were proponents of the name change in addition to two members of the House. The stadium was named for Byrd when it was built in 1950.
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Donald Gaines Murray, a black student, applied to Maryland’s law school in 1935. His application was rejected due to his race and he took the decision to court. He was represented by Thurgood Marshall and in 1936, an appeals court upheld a ruling that Murray should be accepted into the school. Byrd had become the acting president of the university in July of 1935.
Byrd also had hired Bear Bryant to be Maryland’s coach. It was Bryant’s first head coaching job. Bryant was a coach at Maryland for a season in 1945 before he went to Kentucky.
The school recently hired former Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin to be its head coach. Durkin replaces Randy Edsall, who was fired during the season.
For more Maryland news, visit TerrapinSportsReport.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
