BALTIMORE _ The University System of Maryland's governing body on Tuesday will recommend that University of Maryland athletic director Damon Evans and head football coach DJ Durkin remain in their positions, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
They will not move to take action on university president Wallace Loh, sources say, but the embattled president will leave at the end of the school year.
This announcement comes after the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair and a damning investigation into the university's football program.
The Board of Regents has spent much of the two weeks behind closed doors, discussing the futures of three of the most powerful men in College Park. All three met with the regents in person last week.
The board decided their first priority was to return Durkin to the sidelines, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. He has been on administrative leave since August.
Loh expressed deep reservations about this. Regents made it clear either he could put Durkin back on the field, or they would act to replace him with someone who would, the source said.
Loh will announce that he will be leaving effective in June, the source said, at the insistence of the board. Loh is the only person anticipated to leave College Park at this time.
Loh's goal before he leaves in June will be to implement the reforms stemming from the twin reports, stabilize the athletics program and set the stage for a successor to take over.
The regents have overseen two investigations into the football team, stemming from McNair's death in June. The 19-year-old suffered heatstroke during a May 29 practice.
The first investigation was commissioned to look into the athletic department's procedures and protocols on the day McNair fell ill.
That report, led by sports medicine consultant Dr. Rod Walters, found staff made a host of errors _ including failing to immerse McNair in cold water, which experts say could've saved his life and is line with best practices.
Loh has publicly said the school takes "legal and moral responsibility" for mistakes in treating the teenager.
The second investigation was tasked with digging into the football team's culture after media reports labelled it "toxic."
The eight-person commission determined the program "fostered a culture where problems festered because too many players feared speaking out." Its roughly 200-page report highlighted instances of the mental and physical abuse of players, and delved into two years worth of problems within the athletics department. The commission found that the department "lacked a culture of accountability" and was plagued by frequent turnover, dissension and infighting.
Loh, Evans and Durkin all share some blame for the "dysfunction" plaguing the high-profile athletics department, the report found.
The McNair family has publicly called for Durkin to be fired, saying the coach should not be allowed to work with anyone else's child.
Durkin was expected to meet with his staff and players before football practice Tuesday, scheduled around the same time the University System of Maryland Board of Regents was expected to hold a news conference in Baltimore to discuss the recent commission report looking at those allegations.
The 40-year-old coach, who was placed on administrative one day after an explosive article detailing charges of verbal and emotional abuse by Durkin and his staff, in particular strength and conditioning coach Rick Court, will be back on the sideline Saturday in College Park for his team's game against Michigan State.
The decision to reinstate him came after all three men met in Baltimore last Friday with the regents. According to a source, Durkin "moved the needle" toward his reinstatement with his defense.
Before the regents' decision, a coalition of state lawmakers mobilized in support of Loh.
State Sens. Jim Rosapepe and Paul Pinsky, along with six state delegates who represent Prince George's County, wrote in a letter last week that they were worried Loh would be made into a "scapegoat" by the media and the regents.
Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker and U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer also spoke out in defense of the embattled university president.
Former Board of Regents chairman Jim Shea issued a statement Monday reminding the current regents of the governing body's history of respecting "campus autonomy."
"I am unaware of any instance in its 30-year history where the Board took action to hire or fire individual campus employees below the rank of president. For a system governing board to hire or fire such an employee on a campus would be unprecedented in Maryland and highly unusual anywhere in public higher education," the statement reads.
Shea said he was worried that such an action would make it difficult to recruit faculty to system campuses, if they knew they could be fired any time by the system's governing body.
"Such an action would disrupt the important relationships between the Regents and all system institutions," the statement reads.
