Maryland football coach Mike Locksley has a new slogan, revenue to share and thoughts on that drama

Maryland football held its annual media day leading into the first day of spring practice on Tuesday, and Terps coach Mike Locksley was asked if he feels pressure to win heading into this season after last year’s 4-8 mark. Locksley said he’s feeling more confidence than pressure, largely because of the new revenue-sharing landscape that he believes will close the gap between the rich and poor of the Big Ten.

After having an NIL budget that was a small fraction of many Big Ten programs last season, the football program is expected to have a budget of roughly $12-14 million to spend on players.

“Pressure? Man, I don’t see it as pressure. When this landscape changed, I told our fans — I embrace it. This is good for Maryland. This change gives us a chance to grow the program. There are some programs that have benefited from being over-resourced, but now we all kind of have the same money. So let’s see who can coach — including myself,” he said. “It’s not pressure for me. I made it out of Southeast D.C., and I’m the head coach at my dream school. What other pressure could there be?”

Locksley was also asked about basketball coach Kevin Willard’s recent comments about the department’s funding of NIL, the basketball program

“I’m an old-school DC guy. Family business is family business. I have no comment on any of those things. It doesn’t pertain to my business or what I need to do,” he said. “As I’ve stated since I’ve been here, I’ve gotten the resources I’ve needed to build a foundation. I’ve learned in 33 years of coaching — there are no utopias. Every family has their issues and dirty little secrets. I’m of the opinion those are handled individually, behind closed doors, within family ranks.”

After calling his program “developmental” in recent years, a reference to his success finding underheralded recruits and developing them into NFL prospects, he said he’s ditching that label now. Another sign of urgency: his old slogan, The Best is Ahead, has been replaced.

“But we’re out of that model now,” he said. “It’s about what you can do now. The best is now.”