Anderson, Turgeon speak at The Barking Dog

For a night, Terrapins men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon and Athletic Director Kevin Anderson focused their recruitment efforts on a different group than usual — city residents.

About two dozen residents, city officials and avid Terps fans from the Washington area gathered in The Barking Dog last night to listen to Turgeon and Anderson talk about the university's athletics program and show locals the Terps are their team, too. The event was a part of the monthly Experience and Enjoy College Park Tour, which aims at "building community pride" within the city, and College Park City Council members said bringing high-profile athletics officials to a downtown eatery helped residents feel more connected.

While the two athletics officials briefly discussed the upcoming basketball season, District 4 Councilman Marcus Afzali, who organized the event, said it intended to highlight this university's athletics program as a staple for the partnership between the university and the surrounding city.

"We spread the feeling of ‘one College Park,' — not the University of Maryland and then the surrounding community," Afzali said. "We're one city; we support the University of Maryland and the athletic program."

And one of the athletics department's goals is to build a stronger rapport with the community.

"It's very important that we're in touch with the community; we get a lot of support from Prince George's County and the local business community," Anderson said. "We truly want to partner with one another."

With a deficit of $83 million and a dwindling donor list, the university's athletics department has fallen on hard financial times, and Anderson said local businesses are an important component to ensuring the financial success of the athletics program. He declined to comment on how the department plans to address the program's budgetary woes.

"Our success is predicated on their success," Anderson said. "If we get crowds out to support the local business and then come over to the games, everybody wins."

Additionally, the city provides a vital fanbase for the Terps' athletic program, Turgeon said.

"It's College Park's team; it's their university," Turgeon said. "Hopefully if you're not a Maryland fan and you live in College Park, you still root for us, you still care about the university and our sports programs."

Several city residents, such as Mary Lintner, said the event helped them feel more integrated with the community and the university's athletics program.

"I would never have a chance to meet this basketball coach if it wasn't for this event," she said.

For some students, such as sophomore letters and sciences major Audrey Richardson, the city is an important counterpart to the university and its programs — and provides a source of revenue.

"We need the city of College Park to be cooperative and supportive of the university for the morale of the school."

bach@umdbk.com