Byrd Stadium

The Maryland lacrosse team might light up the scoreboard this spring, but fans won't be lighting up at their seats in Byrd Stadium.Effective immediately, the school has banned smoking in the seating areas, rest rooms, press box and the new football complex. Smoking will be permitted on the concourse that surrounds the top of the 45,000-seat stadium.

Gilman's Shane Cockerille wasn't the most touted quarterback heading into the Nike Football Training Camp at McDaniel College, but the future Terp finished Sunday as the event's most impressive signal-caller. Cockerille, who committed to Maryland before the Red-White Spring Game at Byrd Stadium last month, earned QB MVP honors over Eastern Christian's David Sills , who committed to USC as a seventh-grader. Cockerille told ESPN.com that he " had a mindset to be the best . " Many schools had recruited Cockerille as a safety, not a quarterback.

COLLEGE PARK -- As the final gun of his final game at Byrd Stadium sounded yesterday, Scott Milanovich jogged onto the field and shook hands with several Virginia players, then turned and sprinted for the locker room.He was the first Maryland player to leave the field after Virginia's 21-18 win, and if his exit wasn't intentionally rushed, it certainly was symbolic. Who could blame Milanovich for wanting this year to end as soon as possible?Talk about a slump. Since the end of last season, he has a)

In a span of three years between 1973 and 1975, Maryland brought two national championships back to College Park. Since then, nothing. If the Terps hope to end the drought, they will do so away from the friendly confines of Byrd Stadium. They will open the upcoming tournament on the road against No. 7 seed Lehigh, the Patriot League champion that is 14-2 thus far. It's a daunting task for a Maryland team that concluded the regular season on Saturday by dropping a 13-11 decision to Colgate, the team that Lehigh beat for the Patriot League crown.

COLLEGE PARK -- Rising out of the rubble is a building that suggests that Maryland finally is going the extra yard in renovating its athletic facilities.In place of the 40-year-old press box at Byrd Stadium is a five-story structure that will house more than just the literary lions on fall afternoons.The entire stadium bowl has been cleared of the deteriorating concrete, repaired and resurfaced with a gleaming white finish. The aluminum benches are new. Men's and women's restroom facilities are being increased.

Can it really only have been eight weeks since Maryland opened the season with its new coach and new uniforms on a 77-degree night, beating Miami, 32-24? Saturday felt so much ... colder. You could see it in Danny O'Brien's face after Saturday's 28-17 loss to Boston College -- Maryland's fourth straight defeat. You could tell that he really believed after that Miami game, in which he passed for 348 yards, that the Terps could contend this season for an ACC crown. You know what's happened since early September -- injuries, quarterback shuffling and a schedule that has exposed Maryland's inexperience and lack of depth.

The past three years of Maryland football success have also made a number of off-the-field improvements possible in College Park. Since coach Ralph Friedgen arrived, Maryland has received a new scoreboard at Byrd Stadium, a new artificial turf practice facility, a remodeled weight room, a remodeled dining hall and a renovated Gossett Football Team House. The next big push will be to expand Byrd Stadium, adding both additional seats and luxury suites. Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow said Wednesday that the athletic department recently commissioned a feasibility study that will look into how much the school could sell luxury suites for. That would be the first step in getting initial approval from university president C.D. "Dan" Mote Jr. "That's when we start building a funding formula for potential expansion," Yow said.

When a new bank branch opens in the Twin Cities, it's possible that along with balloons and giveaway pens, customers will be greeted by Goldy the Gopher, the University of Minnesota mascot. Appearances by the university mascot, spirit squad and football coach - as well as other considerations, such as access to names and addresses of hundreds of thousands of alumni and season-ticket holders for marketing purposes - are all part of a $35 million naming rights agreement between the school and TCF Bank.

— Maryland's new lacrosse coach raised some eyebrows while meeting his players last summer. "Wow, you coached at Harvard ?" they said. "You must be smart. " Maybe not, John Tillman replied: "When I was a kid, I liked to eat dirt. " There's truth to that. As a player, Tillman had to scrap just to get into the lineup. A walk-on at Cornell, he never started, played in 12 contests overall and lettered once, as a senior. He played three positions in college, reinventing himself time and again in an effort to launch his career.

Good morning --University of Maryland -- With the naming rights deal, will the goal posts at Byrd Stadium now have ATMs attached?

In case you missed Temple's 38-7 win over Maryland last fall, the story in that lopsided Terps loss was Owls running back Bernard Pierce, who set a Temple record by rumbling for five touchdowns. Pierce had four of them before the midway point of the second quarter as Temple rolled to a 31-0 halftime lead at Byrd Stadium. I'm not bringing this up to drive a dagger into the hearts of Terps fans -- trust me, I was groaning, too, when he ran hard against my alma mater, Penn State, a week earlier.

COLLEGE PARK - Joe Cummings has been a leader for Maryland all season, and he stepped up once again Saturday. Cummings scored four goals and added two assists in his final home game at Byrd Stadium. He helped the No. 8 Terps to a big early lead over Bellarmine and later scored a key goal that helped secure a 12-7 victory. "I thought Joe not only scored, but his leadership was really important today," Maryland coach John Tillman said. "There were some times where things weren't going the way we wanted or we got a little anxious.

- With no crowd noise, much of the sound coming from Maryland's spring football practice Tuesday was generated by the "pop" of collisions on the field. Among the players initiating the most contact was Brandon Ross, a running back with a physical style. The 5-10, 205-pound player is competing with sophomore Justus Pickett for a starting spot. "He has the ability to hit the home run with that closing and finishing speed," said offensive coordinator Mike Locksley of Ross, whos is from Newark, Del. "Very explosive, and not just an outside guy. He's a guy that runs physical in between the tackles.

When No. 11 Maryland and No. 2 Virginia meet Saturday at Byrd Stadium, it will mark the first time since last year's national title game that these Atlantic Coast Conference rivals have clashed. The Cavaliers' 9-7 win for their fourth NCAA championship may seem eons ago, but the loss continues to resonate with several Terps who were seeking their first national crown since 1975. “It definitely adds a little bit more,” acknowledged sophomore defenseman Brian Cooper. “I know that's going to be fresh in both of our minds.

No. 11 Maryland has won all five meetings in this series, but the Terps haven't played against No. 9 Villanova since 1998. The Wildcats (4-2) are still seething after getting humbled, 14-8, by No. 18 Princeton this past Tuesday. Maryland (4-1) walloped Marist, 17-4, last Saturday. Here are a few factors that could play a role in the outcome at Byrd Stadium in College Park on Saturday. 1) Solving Villanova's offense. The Wildcats entered the week tied for ninth in Division I in scoring, averaging 12.2 goals per game thus far. Villanova likes to employ two-man games, run off picks, and emphasize off-ball movement to put pressure on opposing defense to keep up. Terps coach John Tillman recalled a conversation he had with Denver coach Bill Tierney prior to the Pioneers' game against the Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

A mid-November matchup with Atlantic Coast Conference-favorite Florida State at Byrd Stadium highlights Maryland's 2012 football schedule, which the conference released Monday. The Seminoles are one of nine bowl teams from last year the Terps will face this season, and represent, on paper, the Terps' toughest test in league play. A consensus preseason top-10 team, Florida State returns 18 starters from last season's 9-4 team, including nine starters off a dominant Seminoles defense.

Gilman's Shane Cockerille wasn't the most touted quarterback heading into the Nike Football Training Camp at McDaniel College, but the future Terp finished Sunday as the event's most impressive signal-caller. Cockerille, who committed to Maryland before the Red-White Spring Game at Byrd Stadium last month, earned QB MVP honors over Eastern Christian's David Sills , who committed to USC as a seventh-grader. Cockerille told ESPN.com that he " had a mindset to be the best . " Many schools had recruited Cockerille as a safety, not a quarterback.

For good luck, some people throw salt over their shoulders, while others caress rabbit's feet. Still, a hardy few carry horseshoes.Jim Berkman has Byrd Stadium in College Park.The coach of the Salisbury State men's lacrosse team has won two Division III championships in three attempts, and both victories occurred at the home of the Maryland Terrapins.As the No. 3 Sea Gulls prepare to meet fifth-ranked Middlebury in the title game at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Byrd Stadium, Berkman is crossing his fingers that his streak will continue.

COLLEGE PARK - As if graduating five starters and three other major contributors wasn't painful enough, Maryland men's lacrosse coach John Tillman revealed before Saturday's season-opener that senior midfielder Jake Bernhardt would miss as much as a month with a shoulder injury. Thankfully, the Terps still have John Haus. The junior midfielder had a game-high four points (two goals and two assists) to pace the No. 10 Terps to a 12-6 victory over No. 19 Hartford Saturday at Byrd Stadium.

After a winding, drawn-out and often befuddling recruitment that has snaked past national signing day and left him as Rivals.com's lone uncommitted five-star prospect , Good Counsel wide receiver Stefon Diggs reportedly is set to announce his commitment to Maryland at a bar within walking distance from Byrd Stadium. The Washington Post's Josh Barr reported last night that Diggs is “poised to announce Friday that he will accept a scholarship offer to play for Maryland,” with his decision coming 6 p.m. tonight at Looney's Pub in College Park.