New Maryland athletic director Jim Smith made his first radio appearance as the program’s AD Tuesday on 105.7 The Fan’s Inside Access show. One of the first questions was about his fellow new arrival, Terps men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams. 

“When we talk about Maryland basketball, we have to talk about both the women’s and men’s programs. Both have been great for a long time. Specifically with Buzz, there’s a good chance he can operate with almost no sleep. The man’s got incredible energy. I’ve never seen a more organized coach in how he builds his roster. For a guy who came to College Park with zero players, he’s built a roster that will be competitive this year,” Smith said.

“He’s very focused on recruiting the DMV, and we’ll do our best to keep top talent here. You might have seen an Instagram post over the weekend showing the commitment from both sides of our basketball program to recruiting in the Baltimore/DMV area.”

But it’s football season, so the first question was about Mike Locksley and his program.

“I really like what Coach Locks has done both on the field and in the meeting room. We’ve continued to recruit the DMV really well. Everybody knows him here, and he knows the kind of program we’re developing. He added some really good coaches this offseason who have great NFL experience. That’s a real benefit, because we have such a young roster that needs development quickly.” he said. “We’ve got a talented roster. They just haven’t had a lot of snaps yet — and having guys with next-level coaching experience is huge. I’m really excited about this upcoming season.”

Maryland Football Scoop: Standouts, concerns and is the Terps’ QB situation becoming clear?

There was little ambiguity about why Maryland picked Smith to replace former AD Damon Evans when he left for SMU: money. College sports is now driven by cash, and Smith has long track record of creating and developing revenue streams. Where does Maryland’s NIL situation stand?

“We’ve had work to do. And honestly, every program does. The rules keep changing, and we have to adapt. Our obligation is to provide the resources for coaches to compete at the highest level. That’s my responsibility: find resources and create a successful NIL program. I started in mid-July, so I’ve had fewer weeks to work with, but we’re off and running,” he said.

“That’s the biggest part of the job, figuring out how to do ‘and’ instead of ‘or.’ We have to have great football, basketball, soccer, field hockey, and more. We’re fortunate here to have great coaches committed to success even if we don’t have the resources others have. My job is to figure out how to provide what they need to keep winning.”

More from Smith below.

On whether he thought being an AD was his next move: “It’s really great to be in College Park and be here at the University of Maryland, so I really appreciate the time. To answer your question directly, no, I think it was 20 years ago when I thought I was going to be an athletic director. Maybe it was even more than that, when I was at Ohio State the first time working for Andy Geiger. I really did think that was going to be the path for me. Then the journey took me in a different direction and into a lot of really great professional sports roles. All of a sudden, the landscape changed a little bit in college, and here I am. So not five or ten years ago, it was a little bit longer ago where I really thought I could be an athletic director.”

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 On the program in general: “The great part is, we already have a lot of great sports here in College Park, right? It’s just about making sure we sustain and keep the sports that are high-performing at that high level, and then build all our other sports into being really high-achieving. We’ve got lacrosse programs, a great men’s soccer program, and we’ve been very competitive in men’s and women’s basketball. Football has the fourth-most bowl wins in the Big Ten over the last four years. We have a lot of successful programs here. How do we sustain it and maintain it going forward?”

On hiring Joe LaBue and Diana Sabau: “There were great people here before me, but I also had the chance to bring in experienced pros. Joe Labue is a proven sports executive and a proud Terp. That’s important. He brings a pro sports perspective that blends well here. With Diana, I needed an experienced collegiate administrator from a big program. I was fortunate to reconnect with her and convince her to join us. A former Maryland AD, Andy Geiger, told me to surround yourself with people smarter than you and I think with Joe and Diana, we’ve done just that.”

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The University of Kansas has received an unprecedented $300 million gift from donor David Booth, believed to be among the largest single gifts in the history of college athletics and the largest in school history.

Kansas plans to allocate $75 million of Booth’s gift toward launching the second phase of its ongoing transformation of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium and construction of the surrounding Gateway District, Kansas athletic director Travis Goff told ESPN.

Though school officials have not revealed a timetable for construction and completion of Phase 2, the funds will allow Kansas to move forward with renovating the east side of the stadium after the 2025 football season.

The remainder of Booth’s gift will establish an annual additional revenue stream for Kansas athletics, Goff said.

“I’d say it’s transformative and a game changer,” Goff told ESPN. “This gift makes an immediate impact on our top priority in a profound way, and it also provides us with an incredible revenue stream that gives us a chance to really invest in unique ways in the future of Kansas athletics.”

Kansas has already invested $450 million in the first phase of the Gateway District project, which included an overhaul of the southwest, west and north sides of the stadium and a major renovation of the Anderson Family Football Complex. Stadium construction got underway at the end of the 2023 football season and will be completed in time for the Jayhawks’ season opener later this month.

The second phase of the Gateway District project would also bring the development of a new hotel, outdoor event plaza, student housing, retail and restaurant spaces and parking located east of Kansas Memorial Stadium.

The total cost of Phase 2 — finishing the stadium and the mixed-use development — is estimated to be $360 million. Lawrence city commissioners voted Tuesday night to approve a package of financial and tax incentives worth around $94 million to support the project.

Kansas Memorial Stadium was named after Booth, a KU graduate and founder of global investment firm Dimensional Fund Advisors, in 2018. The Lawrence, Kansas, native previously provided a foundational gift of $50 million in 2017 to kick off renovations of Memorial Stadium, but the university didn’t move forward with renovating its more than 100-year-old stadium until Goff and chancellor Douglas Girod announced plans for the Gateway District in 2022.

“One of life’s greatest privileges is being able to give back to the people and places that gave so much to you,” Booth said in a statement. “KU and Lawrence are a big part of my story, and it means a lot to support the community that invested in me. Philanthropy, like investing, pays dividends over time. Each gift compounds, creating opportunities not just for today, but for years to come. This is really about the future we’re building.”

After playing their six home games in the Kansas City area during the 2024 season, the Jayhawks will open the season with their first home game inside the renovated Kansas Memorial Stadium on Aug. 23 against Fresno State.