THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408210175
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLLEGE PARK, MD. LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Debbie Yow, Maryland's new athletic director, does not have experience managing a football program. But she knows how important it is for the Terrapins to field a winner.
``You put 50,000 people in the stadium, and that is a lot of money,'' she said.
Yow, 42, was athletic director for four years at St. Louis University, which does not play football, before becoming the latest to tackle the financial problems at Maryland.
She is the first woman athletic director in the ACC, and one of only four in Division I-A.
Yow, who previously was women's basketball coach at Florida and Kentucky, is the sister of N.C. State women's coach Kay Yow.
``The good news is that I wasn't hired to coach football,'' Yow quipped. ``But I do love football, maybe more than basketball.''
One reason could be that she is aware football is the major revenue producer in Division I athletics, and one of her top priorities at Maryland is balancing the athletic budget and paying off a $6.7 million debt.
``If we balance the budget in 1995, it will be the first time that has been done here in 10 years,'' she said.
Part of the university's financial problems date to 1990, when the men's basketball program was put on probation and did not share in ACC television and postseason revenues.
Another reason is a football program that has slumped since winning three consecutive ACC titles from 1983 to '85.
Yow developed a reputation as an elite fund-raiser at Florida and St. Louis, where the men's basketball program averaged almost 20,000 fans per game last season.
She scoffed at the suggestion that Maryland is a tough sale because it must compete for the sports dollar in a pro market.
``People told me we couldn't draw well in St. Louis because of the Blues, and the Cardinals are there, too,'' Yow said. ``We proved them wrong.''
Yow realizes raising funds at Maryland will be easier once the football program attains the same success the basketball team achieved last year.
She isn't starting from scratch, either, despite a football program that has had only one winning season since 1985.
The university is completing a $48 million renovation of Byrd Stadium and team facilities that will be finished when 9,000 new seats are added next winter, pushing capacity to 48,000.
There is optimism that team performance also is poised to take a giant leap upward.
``It is very important to have a winning season, and we are very anxious for that,'' said third-year coach Mark Duffner, whose previous two teams were 3-8 and 2-9.
The Terps' explosive offense broke 52 school records the last two years, and Duffner believes the defense will be improved this season with the return of 10 starters and a new defensive coordinator, Kevin Coyle.
Quarterback Scott Milanovich is back, too, after finishing third in the nation in completions (279) and fifth in passing yardage (3,499) last year.
``Everyone is very optimistic,'' Milanovich said. ``The biggest difference is more experience on defense and one of the best offensive lines in the league.''
Although Maryland's victories were rare last year, Milanovich said support from fans and students was ``fantastic.''
``They kept coming out, even though we weren't winning,'' he said. ``The basketball team showed the kind of enthusiasm this community has, and they are just waiting for us to turn things around.''
Duffner said he is impressed with his new athletic director, even though she has no experience managing a football program.
``She has been successful at the highest level, at Kentucky and Florida, and is very productive as a fund-raiser,'' Duffner said. ``St. Louis doesn't play football, but the men's basketball program was very successful.''
Yow is the fifth person in the last seven years to direct Maryland's athletic programs, but she promised she is ``here to stay.''
``I have come back home to ACC country,'' assured the native of Gibsonville, N.C., ``and I am going to see this through.'' by CNB