On the precipice of his sixth season at Maryland, coach Mark Turgeon and the university have agreed to a new contract. The 51-year-old Turgeon signed a four-year extension on his current deal, theoretically keeping him at Maryland through 2022-23.
The Terps made the Sweet 16 in March. It was the program's first trip to the second weekend of the NCAAs in 13 years. Turgeon owns a 114-59 mark in his five seasons with Maryland. No basketball coach in school history has won more games in his first five seasons.
"Mark has built a program that we are incredibly proud of as he continues to lead the great tradition that is Maryland Basketball," Maryland AD Kevin Anderson said in a written statement. "I am proud of the academic and athletic success that the men's basketball team has achieved under Mark's leadership the past five years. He is committed to developing our student-athletes into well-rounded graduates and leaders of their communities."
Some of this is because college basketball plays more games now throughout a season than 15, 20 or 30 years ago, but still, check this stat: The Terps' 55 wins the past two seasons is the most over a two-year stretch at any point in program history. Maryland ranks 42nd on the CBS Sports preeminent list of all 351 teams in college basketball heading into the season. Melo Trimble, who we rank as one of the 15 best players in the sport, will largely be responsible for how successful Turgeon's team is this season.
Turgeon's coached winning seasons for 14 straight years, and he's 77-13 all-time at home since getting to College Park. He's also coached at Jacksonville State, Wichita State and Texas A&M and totals 364 victories in his career.