Maryland's "Los Terps" Celebration Demonstrates New Effort in College Athletics

This Saturday night, the Maryland Terrapins will have a subtle yet impactful change to their on-field look.

As part of their Hispanic Heritage night at SECU Stadium, the team will feature "Los Terps" decals on their helmets. The Terps' game against Virginia Tech aligns with the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated September 15 - October 15 annually.

Though it may seem like a minor gesture to some, the Terps are one of the only football programs in the entire nation to celebrate a core component of their fanbase this way.

According to Census data, nearly 20% of those living in the region are of Hispanic or Latino heritage, and that number remains on the rise.

"We have a really big Hispanic community in the DMV," Terrapins' quarterback Malik Washington said. "A lot of my friends growing up were Hispanic, and I was able to learn so much from them. Being able to celebrate and show our support for Hispanic heritage is really big for me and the Terps."

In addition to the helmets, Maryland Athletic is also offering several related giveaways:

The first 7,500 fans to attend will receive a "Los Terps" mini helmet keychain

2,000 students will get a t-shirt

Those who purchased a special ticket package also get a themed hat.

And the helmet notion goes beyond just this one game - the special look is available for fans to use in EA Sports' College Football 27.

This celebration comes at a time when overall Hispanic participation in NCAA sports is skyrocketing, with a more than 60% increase over the past 10 years. And as interest and involvement grow, the Terps are taking initiative to continue attracting this wider audience.

Their first attempt came last January 18, when the school gave away "Los Terps" hats before a men's basketball game against Penn State. The university partnered with El Tiempo Latino, a D.C.-based media company, to market the event on social media.

That was widely viewed as a success, leading to the decision to have a larger event in football.

As stated earlier, this is still a rarity at the college level. While many pro baseball and basketball organizations have theme nights for various ethnic and religious backgrounds, they do so spread out over schedules of 81 and 41 home games, respectively.

Minor league baseball goes even a step further with their "Copa de la Diversion" series, where teams adopt alternate Spanish monikers for several games each season. 87 of 128 affiliated teams (68%), plus five more Independent organizations, currently participate.

The Terps again partnered with El Tiempo Latino for football, and the effort seems to be working - Saturday's game against VT is sold out, with an expected crowd of over 46,000.

"Everybody and their mama wants to come to this game and support this," Maryland defensive lineman Daniel Owens said. "I’ve had more people ask for tickets for this game than I’ve ever had in my four years of playing college football."

And if the fanbase - and the national audience watching on FS1 - has strong impressions from this promotion, other colleges near large Hispanic populations could start planning their own campaigns.

"The DMV is such a diverse area, and I consider myself lucky to have lived in it most of my life," Terps' head coach Mike Locksley said. "For us to be able to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Night with our ‘Los Terps’ helmet during a primetime home game is an honor. We’re excited to represent Maryland’s rich Hispanic population and do it in the right way on the field."

Stay up to date with the Terrapins by bookmarking Maryland On SI and follow us on Twitter.

Add us as a preferred source on Google