‘Yow Bowl’ mixes Terps’ old and new

As Ralph Friedgen and the Terrapin football team await an official invitation to postseason play, they can take comfort in one fact: An automatic spot in Saturday's so-called "Yow Bowl" already beckons.

The name, coined by Terp fans before this season even began, refers to former Terp Athletics Director Debbie Yow, who left this summer to take the same position at N.C. State, the team the Terps will take on this weekend at Byrd Stadium.

When Yow departed for her alma mater in June, she left in her wake uncertainty over coach Ralph Friedgen's job security. At times during the 2009 season, tension between Yow and Friedgen became palpable as the team struggled to a 2-10 record, a program-worst mark. Rumors swirled about efforts to buy out the remainder of Friedgen's contract, but an ever-tightening athletics budget and lukewarm support ultimately kept the buy-out from materializing.

Yow wasn't shy about letting Friedgen know her expectations for the program. Before deciding to take the job with the Wolfpack, she all but mandated a seven-win season as a condition for Friedgen to remain coach in 2011, the final year of his contract.

That's exactly what Friedgen has accomplished to this point in the season. Engineering one of the best turnarounds in Division I this year, Friedgen has led the Terps to a 7-4 record with two more games — their regular-season finale against the Wolfpack and bowl game — potentially adding to that win total.

Said Friedgen of the team's improvement: "The record speaks for itself."

Athletics Director Kevin Anderson thought so, too. Late last week, the man hired to permanently replace Yow announced Friedgen would return to coach the Terps in the final year of his current contract.

"I got that contract a while back," Friedgen said. "And I've kept up my end of the deal."

Another legacy of the Yow era remains, though. In

February 2009, she named offensive coordinator James Franklin the team's coach-in-waiting, guaranteeing him $1 million if he is not named coach by Jan. 2, 2012. Anderson publicly expressed his distaste for the concept of coaches-in-waiting earlier this year, which he said limited a program's options.

Even with the unresolved coaching mess she left behind, Yow's 16-year tenure was still one of the most successful in this university's history. She presided over an ACC Championship in football, national championships in men's and women's basketball and skyrocketing successes in nonrevenue sports.

Despite their clashes, though, Friedgen still speaks of Yow respectfully, fully aware that she gave him a coaching opportunity in 2001 few others had. But after his job security was affirmed by Anderson last week, Friedgen told one story that illustrates the sometimes divergent visions he and Yow had for the program.

Every Friday during the season, Friedgen hosts breakfasts for boosters and students, which he said are important to help "meet the fans, welcome them, give them some identity with the program, some contact with the program." When Franklin was hired in 2007, Friedgen said Yow hoped he would limit his appearances to after the team's season opener, homecoming and bowl game.

And now?

"I'm back to doing it every Friday," Friedgen said.

Terp players, for their part, are optimistic about what Anderson will bring to the program.

"You can tell that Mr. Anderson is an extremely motivated guy," quarterback Danny O'Brien said. "He's not going to settle for anything less than what's out there, so he's going to push us, which I love."

O'Brien said he and his teammates also appreciated that Anderson decided to end speculation about where their coach stood, at least for a season.

"[Friedgen is] a big reason why I came here, and I think you can say that for a lot of players on this team," O'Brien said. "It was a big vote of confidence just to know that other people are seeing what we see in Coach Friedgen."

kyanchulis@umdbk.com