- October 06, 2025
- By Maryland Today Staff
It began with panic-cleaning of residence hall rooms and ended with a few sniffly goodbyes. In between, University of Maryland students and the parents, siblings, and nanas and papas who came to see them at Family Weekend enjoyed a whirlwind celebration of the UMD community.
A record-breaking number of families (2,138) and family members (7,454) spanning 42 states and four countries registered for this year’s event, according to the Office of Family Engagement.
More than 2,000 people turned out for the Terp Family Festival and Tailgate on a sunshiny, summerlike Saturday on McKeldin Mall. (“I told families it’s like this every day at Maryland!” Family Engagement Director Matt Supple laughed.)
Other perennial favorites also drew big crowds, including the President’s Open House, Not Your Grandma’s Bingo and the Gospel Brunch that closed out the weekend. New events proved wildly popular too: the Insect Petting Zoo, a carryover from Maryland Day; a UMD (and not-deadly) take on “Squid Game”; a free professional photo op at the M; and Terp Families Fight Hunger, a Do Good Campus event that drew an estimated 100 volunteers to package 28,000 meals for children and families in the D.C. metro area.
Terp energy hit a high on Saturday as campus parking lots turned into tailgate parties and a sold-out SECU Stadium filled up for Maryland Football’s matchup against Washington. The crowd whooped and roared as the Terrapins built a 20-0 lead, but the Huskies surged in the second half and delivered the Terps’ first defeat of the season, 24-20.
Families could also choose quieter or more reflective activities, whether stopping by meet-and-greets with representatives of their student’s academic unit, painting a mini-testudo in Studio A, visiting art exhibitions or attending worship services.
Supple said all credit goes to employees and volunteers in the divisions of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs and partners in the academic units, who organized the events, made families feel welcome and made the campus look beautiful.
The Mighty Sound of Maryland and Dance Team perform for students and their families in front of McKeldin Library on Friday as a part of Family Weekend. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
Sabrina Scott '29 (center) and her mother, Clare Scott, from Minneapolis laugh as host Patti O'Furniture performs during Not Your Grandma's Bingo at the Stamp Student Union on Friday evening. The event sells out every year, and all proceeds benefit Fostering Terp Success, which supports students who are experiencing homelessness or have a history of involvement in foster care. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
Sanjay Chelliah '27 (left) and Hayden Plutschak '29 compete in the Squid Game Show, a UMD-themed elimination game inspired by the TV series “Squid Game” and hosted by local comedian Sammy Garcia ‘21, in the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center on Friday. The rounds included games such as “Ledo Joust,” in which they knock pizza boxes out of their opponents’ hands. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
The Star Strutters perform in the Stamp Student Union’s Hoff Theater on Friday for the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s All-Niteish Step Show. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
UMD President Darryll J. Pines, left, poses for a photo with Navya Pandit ‘29 and her parents, Himanshu and Pritida Pandit of East Brunswick, N.J., during the President’s Open House at University House on Friday. Pines also greeted families with Testudo pins, and they perused works on display by the late artist David C. Driskell. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Fall looked like summer on Saturday on McKeldin Mall, where families gathered for the Terp Family Festival and Tailgate. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Tracy Hofmann (left) of Mt. Airy, Md., reacts as her son Matthew ‘27, holds an adult male jungle nymph, Heteropteryx dilatata, on Saturday at the Insect Petting Zoo. It was hosted by the Department of Entomology during the Terp Festival and Tailgate. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Maryland fans (and a few others) squeeze into a sold-out SECU Stadium on Saturday for a football game against the Washington Huskies that the Terps ultimately lost, 24-20. (Photo by Kevin Snyder/Maryland Terrapins)
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